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Migration, remittances and household welfare in Ethiopia

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  • Andersson, L.

    (Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg)

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of international remittances and migration on household welfare in Ethiopia. We employ both subjective a households subjective economic well-being and objective measures asset holdings and asset accumulation to define household welfare. A matching approach is applied to address self-selection, and by exploiting information before and after the households began receiving remittances, the study sheds light on the changes in welfare associated with international migration and remittances. The results reveal that remittances have a significant impact on a welfare variable that has previously not received much attention in the migration literature, namely household subjective economic well-being. In addition, we find that remittances have positive effects on consumer asset accumulation, especially in rural areas, but no effect on productive assets.

Suggested Citation

  • Andersson, L., 2014. "Migration, remittances and household welfare in Ethiopia," MERIT Working Papers 2014-004, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2014004
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    Cited by:

    1. Junaid Ahmed & Mazhar Mughal & Stephan Klasen, 2018. "Great Expectations? Remittances and Asset Accumulation in Pakistan," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(3), pages 507-532, April.
    2. Nigussie Abadi & Ataklti Techane & Girmay Tesfay & Daniel Maxwell & Bapu Vaitla, 2018. "The impact of remittances on household food security: A micro perspective from Tigray, Ethiopia," WIDER Working Paper Series 040, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Mduduzi Biyase & Bianca Fisher & Marinda Pretorius, 2020. "Remittances and subjective well-being: A static and dynamic panel approach to single-item and multi-item measures of happiness," Economic Development and Well-being Research Group Working Paper Series edwrg-04-2020, University of Johannesburg, College of Business and Economics, revised 2020.
    4. Tassew Dufera Tolcha & P.Nandeeswar Rao, 2016. "The Impact of Remittances on Economic Growth in Ethiopia," Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies, Educational Research Multimedia & Publications,India, vol. 7(2), pages 01-15, May.
    5. Antonio Martuscelli & Michael Gasiorek, 2019. "Regional Integration And Poverty: A Review Of The Transmission Channels And The Evidence," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 431-457, April.
    6. Mduduzi Biyase & Fiona Tregenna, 2016. "Determinants of remittances in South Africa," SALDRU Working Papers 176, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    7. Sharma, Rasadhika & Grote, Ulrike, 2019. "Who is an internal migrant?," TVSEP Working Papers wp-013, Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade, Project TVSEP.
    8. Ulrich Nguemdjo & Bruno Ventelou, 2020. "How do migrations affect under-five mortality in rural areas? Evidence from Niakhar, Senegal," Working Papers halshs-03078776, HAL.
    9. Alleluyanatha, Esther & Awotide, Bola Amoke & Dontsop-Nguezet, Paul Martins & Coulibaly, Amadou Youssouf & Bello, Lateef & Abdoulaye, Tahirou & Manyong, Victor & Bamba, Zoumana, 2021. "Effect of Youth Migration and Remittances on RURAL Households’ Livelihoods in South-Eastern Nigeria," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315200, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    10. Iddisah Sulemana & Louis Doabil & Ebenezer Bugri Anarfo, 2019. "International Remittances and Subjective Wellbeing in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Micro-level Study," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 524-539, September.
    11. Paresh Kumar Sarma & Mohammad Jahangir Alam & Ismat Ara Begum, 2023. "International remittances’ impact on household welfare and food security in Bangladesh: evidence from cross-sectional data," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-17, January.
    12. Yonas Alem & Lisa Andersson, 2019. "International Remittances and Private Interhousehold Transfers: Exploring the Links," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(4), pages 902-928, September.
    13. Nigussie Abadi & Ataklti Techane & Girmay Tesfay & Daniel Maxwell & Bapu Vaitla, 2018. "The impact of remittances on household food security: A micro perspective from Tigray, Ethiopia," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-40, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    migration; remittances; household welfare; economic development; human development; income distribution; asset acculumation; Ethiopia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • F24 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Remittances
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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