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Fathers' migration and nutritional status of children in India: Do the effects vary by community context?

Author

Listed:
  • Lei Lei

    (Institute of Developing Economies)

  • Sonalde Desai

    (University of Maryland)

  • Feinian Chen

    (Johns Hopkins University)

Abstract

Background: Due to international and internal migration, millions of children in developing countries are geographically separated from one or both of their parents. Prior research has not reached a consensus on the impacts of parental out-migration on children's growth, and little is known about how community contexts modify the impact of parental out-migration. Objective: We aim to assess the overall impacts of fathers' previous and current migration experiences on children's nutritional status in India and how the impacts are shaped by community socioeconomic contexts and community gender norms. Methods: Using data from the Indian Human Development Survey collected in 2011–2012, we estimated community fixed-effect regression models predicting the nutritional status of children (ages 10–15) and examined interactions among fathers' migration, children's gender, and community contexts. Results: The results showed that children of returned migrants had lower height and body mass index (BMI) than children of nonmigrants. A father's current absence was associated with lower height and BMI for adolescents in communities with high levels of socioeconomic development but not for those in communities with low levels of development. A father's current absence due to migration was especially detrimental to girls in communities with strict norms of female seclusion. Contribution: Our findings highlight that the effects of father's out-migration on children are conditioned by the level of communities' socioeconomic development and community gender contexts, which helps to reconcile the previously mixed findings on the effects of parental migration on child outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Lei Lei & Sonalde Desai & Feinian Chen, 2020. "Fathers' migration and nutritional status of children in India: Do the effects vary by community context?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(20), pages 545-580.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:43:y:2020:i:20
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2020.43.20
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    Cited by:

    1. Kriti Vikram, 2023. "Timing and Frequency of Fathers’ Migration and Nutritional Status of Left-Behind Children in India: A Life Course Approach," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(1), pages 1-29, February.
    2. Chunhai Gao & Endale Tadesse & Sabika Khalid, 2022. "Word of Mouth from Left-Behind Children in Rural China: Exploring Their Psychological, Academic and Physical Well-being During COVID-19," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(5), pages 1719-1740, October.
    3. Prem Shankar Mishra & Mudassar Jamadar & Abhipsa Tripathy & Ankit Anand, 2022. "Understanding the Socio-Economic Vulnerability in Child Malnutrition Between Migrants and Non-Migrants Children (12–59 Months) in India: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(5), pages 1871-1888, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    migration; children left behind; India; parental absence; left-behind children; nutritional status; community context;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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