The Impacts of Migration on Multidimensional Child Well-Being: Comparative Analysis Between Moldova and Georgia

Using novel household survey data collected between September 2011 and December 2012 on migrant- and non-migrant households in Moldova and Georgia, this paper proposes a method for measuring and comparing multidimensional child well-being in a migration context. While a growing body of literature addresses the effects of migration for children “left behind”, relatively few studies have empirically analysed if and to what extent migration implies different well-being outcomes for children. To compare the outcomes of children in current- and non-migrant households, the present paper defines a multidimensional well-being index comprised of six dimensions of wellness: education, material living standards, protection, physical health, emotional health, and communication access. The results of both bivariate and multivariate analysis suggest that migration bears limited consequences for different domains of well-being. In both Moldova and Georgia children in migrant households were found to have a slightly lower probability of attaining material well-being, but in Georgia migration was linked to higher probabilities of children attaining wellbeing in physical health, communication access, and on total index level. The results suggest that when migration has any statistically significant effect on child well-being, it is generally positive and relatively low in magnitude. The impacts of migration appear to differ widely between Moldova and Georgia, however. While migration was seen to have limited effect on the well-being of children in Moldova, it seemed to bear more consequences for children in Georgia, which likely reflects different migration trajectories, mobility patterns, and levels of maturity of each migration stream

The impact of migration on children left behind in Moldova

This paper empirically evaluates the well-being of children "left behind" by migrant household members in Moldova. Using data derived from a nationally-representative, large-scale household survey conducted between September 2011 and February 2012 among 3,255 households (1,801 of which contained children aged 0-17) across Moldova, different dimensions of child well-being are empirically evaluated. Well-being of children in Moldova is divided into eight different dimensions, each of which is comprised of several indicators. Each indicator is examined individually and then aggregated into an index. Well-being outcomes are then compared by age group, primary caregiver, migration status of the household (current migrant, return migrant, or no migration experience), and by who has migrated within the household. It was found that migration in and of itself is not associated with negative outcomes on children’s well-being in any of the dimensions analysed, nor does it matter who in the household has migrated. Children living in return migrant households, however, attain higher rates of well-being in specific dimensions like emotional health and material well-being. The age of the child and the material living standards experienced by the household are much stronger predictors of well-being than household migration status in a number of different dimensions. The results suggest that migration does not play a significant role in shaping child well-being outcomes, contrary to the scenarios described in much past research. This paper is the first (to the authors’ knowledge) to link migration and multidimensional child poverty

Do remittances and social assistance have different impacts on expenditure patterns of recipient households? : The Moldovan case

Do remittances and social assistance have different impacts on household expenditure patterns? While two separate strands of literature have looked at how social assistance or remittances have been spent, few studies have compared them directly. Using data from a nationally representative household survey conducted in Moldova in 2011, this paper assesses the impact both types of transfers have on household expenditure patterns. Contrary to the common assumption that money is fungible, we find that social assistance and remittances have different impacts on expenditure patterns (having controlled for potential endogeneity). This research highlights that income source matters and that different incomes may have different poverty impacts. In our sample, the two types of transfers are received by different, but to some extent overlapping population groups. The fact that the two transfers are spent in different ways means that, to some extent, social assistance and remittances are complements rather than substitutes

“Children with an Absent Parent: Are They Worse-off?”

While it is taken as a given that the absence of a parent, main caregiver, or other family member can significantly affect many aspects of child well-being, the precise relationship between parental absenteeism through migration and child well-being outcomes is still uncertain. Within the field of migration studies increasing attention has been paid to the “left behind”, individuals who remain in the country of origin following the emigration of a household member. Available evidence on the lives of children left behind is scattered, however, due to the limited scope and depth of previous studies, many of which address the phenomenon through small-scale, qualitative studies. Migration of a household member could have both positive and negative effects on the well-being of children who remain in the country of origin: the transfer of remittances and availability of additional resources could enable the household to make increased investments in the education and health of children while enabling them to meet daily consumption needs without problem. At the same time the absence of a care giver could imply less supervision and greater emotional challenges for children. There are generally no universally positive or negative impacts of migration on well-being outcomes. Kandel and Kao (2001) note that there is a tendency to over-simplify potential positive benefits of migration, and nuance is often lost by failing to balance greater material resources against losses of less-easily measured impacts (such as parental supervision)

Conservation Practice Modeling Guide for SWAT and APEX

Present day watershed management and water quality research strategies require an inclusive approach allowing for analysis of pollutant loadings from multiple sources including rural lands, urbanized areas, and riparian corridors. The selection and implementation of management strategies is dependent upon accurate modeling of proposed management scenarios. The use of computer driven soil and water modeling systems such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and Agricultural Policy Extender (APEX) has enhanced the ability of environmental managers, researchers, government officials, and urban planners to analyze current conditions and predict future impacts of land use changes on water quality. Despite the innovation of these technologies, modelers are often required to account for the changes in pollutant and sediment loadings resulting from the implementation of approved conservation practices such as filter strips, bioretention areas, and pervious pavement. This parallel development of computer modeling and sound conservation practices calls for the creation of a comprehensive guide to modeling that will provide traditional and new constituencies the convenience of a single source for information to assist water quality planning efforts. By assembling the existing data for practice design, application, and model inputs into a user-friendly manual, the modelers and other beneficiaries will no longer need to engage in lengthy and exhaustive research to determine the conservation practices that will allow for the desired pollutant reductions. The Conservation Practice Modeling Guide is a "living" document formatted to allow for innovations in modeling inputs for existing and new practices as each are developed

Migration and multi‐dimensional poverty in Moldovan communities

This paper aims to understand the links between migration and poverty at the community level. Most of the research to date on the links between migration and poverty has been conducted at the micro level, while research related to migration and development more broadly usually focuses on the specific micro or the broader macro level. This paper adds to the existing literature by focusing specifically on the community level using data collected in the second half of 2011 in 180 Moldova communities. This paper examines four dimensions of poverty at the community level, namely: 1) infrastructure, 2) education, 3) livelihood and 4) health. We look at different rates of poverty by migration/remittance prevalence and country destination. We find that communities with higher rates of migration are significantly associated with a higher level of deprivation in infrastructure and the multi-dimensional index, while we find no significant results for remittances sent to the community. Community size and average income as well as region and proximity to the capital all show significant results of the different dimensions of well-being

How Social Assistance Affects Subjective Wellbeing: Lessons from Kyrgyzstan

This paper investigates the effects of social assistance on subjective well-being looking at the case of Kyrgyzstan. For this purpose, we exploit recent changes in the design of social assistance and apply a difference in difference (DiD) method combined with an inverse probability weighting (IPW) technique. In contrast to the existing literature, we find that in the short-term, the receipt of social assistance benefits is associated with lower levels of subjective well-being. Our findings also reveal that participation in social assistance leads to some reduction in satisfaction regarding recipients' own economic conditions. Moreover, we find that the negative effects on subjective well-being disappear for the oldest generations, which experienced the dissolution of the Soviet Union. By contrast, the effect is negative for the youth, who grew up in a new society where needing help is ultimately the responsibility of the individual citizen. For individuals with high trust in political institutions, the negative effect of state intervention does not hold, while it persists in case of low trust in political institutions

Adult Child Migration and Elderly Multidimensional Well-Being: Comparative Analysis Between Moldova and Georgia

Despite growing concern over the potential consequences of migration for the “left behind,” few systematic attempts have been made to document the relationship between the migration of an adult child and the well-being of his or her elderly parent(s) remaining in the country of origin. This article proposes a multidimensional elderly well-being index that enables the identification and comparison of outcomes between elderly individuals with and without adult migrant children in Moldova and Georgia, two former Soviet states that are both experiencing demographic and mobility transitions. The outcomes of elderly individuals with and without children living abroad are compared to illustrate in what domains child absence through migration corresponds to differing well-being outcomes. The findings suggest that the migration of an adult child is not as significant a factor in shaping well-being outcomes as would be expected based on past literature; other factors may play much stronger roles in shaping of well-being

Unpacking the Relationship between Parental Migration and Child well-Being:Evidence from Moldova and Georgia

Using household survey data collected between September 2011 and December 2012 from Moldova and Georgia, this paper measures and compares the multidimensional well-being of children with and without parents abroad. While a growing body of literature has addressed the effects of migration for children ‘left behind’, relatively few studies have empirically analysed if and to what extent migration implies different well-being outcomes for children, and fewer still have conducted comparisons across countries. To compare the outcomes of children in current- and non-migrant households, this paper defines a multidimensional well-being index comprised of six dimensions of wellness: education, physical health, housing conditions, protection, communication access, and emotional health. This paper challenges conventional wisdom that parental migration is harmful for child well-being: while in Moldova migration does not appear to correspond to any positive or negative well-being outcomes, in Georgia migration was linked to higher probabilities of children attaining well-being in the domains of communication access, housing, and combined well-being index. The different relationship between migration and child well-being in Moldova and Georgia likely reflects different migration trajectories, mobility patterns, and levels of maturity of each migration stream