Internal migration and household living conditions in Ethiopia

Using the 1998 Migration, Gender and Health Survey in Five Regions of Ethiopia, and multivariate regression techniques, this paper examines the relationship between internal migration and household living conditions. The analysis finds significant living condition advantage of permanent and temporary migrants over non-migrants. These advantages are primarily linked to migration selectivity by education and non-agricultural income. Once the independent effects of these variables are controlled, no statistical significant independent association exists between migration status and living conditions. Government policies of resettlement in the 1980s and ethnic federalism of the 1990s may have engendered stress migration and exacerbated poor living outcomes for return migrants. The resort to migration and/or resettlement as an individual or government policy response to periodic unfavorable conditions in places of origin is not strongly supported by this analysis as the key to improved living conditions. Promoting higher education and opportunities for employment outside the agricultural sector are more likely to yield improved living conditions in Ethiopia.Civil War, drought, famine, internal migration, living conditions, living conditions index, migration, resettlement, stress migration

Insurance motives to remit: Evidence from a matched sample of Ethiopian internal migrants

Migration and remittances can be used by rural households as a means of insurance, investment, and income augmentation. Ample attention has been given to studying international remittance flows, since for many countries such transfers comprise a significant fraction of income. Remittance flows from internal migrants are relatively understudied, particularly in Africa, where remittance rates are poor. We use a unique matched migrant sample to study what drives the low remittance rates in Ethiopia. Descriptive statistics suggest remitters are positively selected in terms of wealth characteristics compared with the average tracked migrant. Limited skill transferability and liquidity largely explain low remittance rates in Ethiopia. Weaker evidence suggests migrants are additionally motivated to remit as a form of self-insurance against own shocks to income and investments towards future inheritable assets.Insurance, Migration, Remittances,

Does relative deprivation induce migration?: evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

This analysis revisits the decades-old relative deprivation theory of migration. In contrast to the traditional view that migration is driven by absolute income maximization, we test whether relative deprivation induces migration in the context of sub-Saharan Africa. Taking advantage of the internationally comparable longitudinal data from integrated household and agriculture surveys from Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda, we use panel fixed effects to estimate the effects of relative deprivation on migration decisions. Using per capita consumption expenditure and multidimensional wealth index as well-being measures, we find that a household’s migration decision is based not only on its absolute well-being level but also on the relative position of the household in the well-being distribution of the community in which it resides. We also discover that the effect of relative deprivation on migration is amplified in rural, agricultural, and male-headed households. Results are robust to alternative specifications including the use of Hausman Taylor Instrumental Variable (HTIV) estimator and pooled data across the five countries. Results confirm that the “migration-relative deprivation” relationship also holds in the context of sub-Saharan Africa. We argue that policies designed to check rural–urban migration through rural transformation and poverty reduction programs should use caution because such programs can increase economic inequality, which further increases migration flow

Trade Liberalization and Poverty: A Macro-Micro Analysis in Ethiopia

Using a CGE model, this study analyses the impact of trade liberalization on poverty at the household level taking Ethiopia as a case. Two scenarios (complete tariff cut and uniform tariff scheme) suggest that further liberalization of trade has little short-run effect on the overall economy. However, the agriculture-based manufacturing sector (in particular, textile and leather) is likely to be strongly affected by further tariff reduction. Reductions in import prices of textiles and leather products increase imports of these goods implying that trade liberalization is likely to dampen domestic production of textile and leather products. Poverty shows a slight increase in both scenarios. At the national level, a complete tariff cut results in an increase in poverty by 2.8 percent, while a uniform tariff scheme raises poverty by 2.3 percent. Similarly, it is found that poverty gap and poverty severity indices show a slight increase. Comparing the effect of trade reform on different household groups, i.e. farm households, wage earner households and entrepreneur households, poverty in entrepreneur households increases by a higher percentage change (3.2 percent) in the complete tariff cut scenario. Poverty incidence increases by 1.7 and 1.5 percent for farm households and wage earners, respectively, under the complete tariff cut scenario. This comparison holds consistently when looking at the more realistic uniform tariff scheme. Entrepreneur households are at a disadvantage due to trade liberalization shown in the poverty gap and poverty severity indices. This is consistent with the theoretical argument that previously protected infant industries are highly affected by trade liberalization. --trade liberalization,poverty,CGE,import duties,macro-micro simulation

Does Migration Improve Living Standards of Migrant-Sending Households? Evidence from Rural Ethiopia

This paper aims to evaluate the impact of migration on household welfare, in particular the consumption expenditure in Ethiopia, using cross-sectional data collected from 1,200 rural households from four different regions in 2014. We estimate a counterfactual distribution of household consumption per capita, using a Heckman selection model to control and test for selection bias, to analyse to what extent households have gained from having a migrant. Our results suggest that on average, migration has a positive impact on the rural living standards but that gains are not distributed evenly across the consumption distribution. We find that poorer households in fact experience a decline in living standards by having a migrant.DFI

Changing Patterns of Migration and Remittances in Ethiopia 2014-2018

This paper reports on the changing patterns of migration and remittances in Ethiopia using a bespoke longitudinal survey of 1200 rural households. We shed light on changes in migration destinations, revealing the large scale of return migration between waves, prompted by increasing intra-ethnic conflict internally and restrictions of migration internationally to the Middle East. We highlight a decline in remittance receipt for households in our sample, but higher remittances on average for those households that continue to receive remittances. Finally, we explore descriptively changes in measures of household welfare revealing that on average living standards have fallen among all types of households, notably those with migrants in the second wave of our survey, despite a strongly held perception among all types of households that migration leads to improved incomes and to an improvement in the overall quality of life.DFI

Do Limitations in Land Rights Transferability Influence Low Mobility Rates in Ethiopia?

Migration is considered a pathway out of poverty for many rural households in developing countries. National policies can discourage households from exploiting external employment opportunities through the distortion of capital markets. Studies in China show that the presence of state and collectively owned land creates inefficiencies in the labor market. We examine the extent restrictions on land rights impede mobility in Ethiopia, having the lowest urbanization rate in sub-Saharan Africa. The empirical estimates support a robust positive effect from increasing the transferability of land rights on migration. Our findings are suggestive that the nascent land certification and registration programs in regions of Ethiopia may potentially promote poverty reduction by increasing incentives to migrate.International Development, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use,

The Impact of International Remittance on Poverty, Household Consumption and Investment in Urban Ethiopia: Evidence from Cross-Sectional Measures

International remittance is an essential source of foreign exchange for Ethiopia, perhaps larger than the export earning of the country in its foreign exchange generation capacity. In the year 2013; total international remittance in Ethiopia reached 557 million USD from 387 million USD in 2010 according to World Bank Report. To assess the impact of international remittances on poverty, household consumption and investment in urban Ethiopia, this study used primary household survey data collected from four major urban areas of the country namely Addis Ababa, Gonder, Hawassa and Mekelle. The study applies both descriptive and empirical analysis; using Heckman two stage selection model the study finds that international remittances substantially reduce the level, depth and severity of poverty. For the sub sample of households which receive remittances poverty head count index, poverty gap and squared poverty gap declined by 64 percent, 67 percent and 70 percent respectively. Similarly the study found that all remittance receiving households spend part of their remittance income mainly on food and non durable goods. Yet, a good number of households are also used part of it for investment such as health, education and housing. Nevertheless; relatively insignificant number of households save part of remittance income and none of them used it to invest in entrepreneurial or other income generating activities.Keywords: International Remittance, Poverty and Household Consumption and Investmen

Editorial: Supporting children and young people in a changing world.

The editorial describes how the papers in the special issue engage with the views and experiences of children, as well as adults, to analyse the impact of social protection and social mobility through education and employment on their well-being. It takes a slightly critical approach to concepts such as well-being and agency—acknowledging that these frequently embrace their opposites—and highlights the value of mixed methods in exploring themes such as ‘voice and visibility’, schooling and work, and child poverty and outcomes. Finally, it draws out common conclusions and discusses their implications for policy and programme design

Poverty and Fertility in Less Developed Countries: A Comparative Analysis

Poverty and fertility are two important and closely related aspects of welfare. In this paper we use unique longitudinal data sources to study the relationship between poverty and fertility at household level in Albania, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Vietnam. These countries differ greatly in their history, average income, social structure, economic institutions and demographic features. We find that there is a substantial difference in the relative importance of the determinants of poverty dynamics and fertility; the persistence of high levels of fertility and poverty in Ethiopia is driven by lack of economic growth and poor access to family planning; education and health provision are crucial elements in reducing poverty and fertility, as is clear from Vietnam, Indonesia and Albania.