The Impact of Migration on Poverty and Inequality in Myanmar
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/tresp.v6i1.249264Keywords:
Inequality, Migration, Poverty, RemittancesAbstract
Using the Myanmar Poverty and Living Conditions Survey (MPLCS) 2015 household survey, this paper investigates the impact of migration on the welfare of left-behind households. Although applying panel data is an efficient way of identifying migration impacts, the availability of such kind of panel data is limited in developing countries and thus consistent calculations is not always possible. Therefore, by applying cross sectional survey data, this paper estimates counterfactual outcomes for a household which decides not to participate in migration. In order to impute the counterfactual per capita expenditure for migrant-sending households, this paper follows Heckman’s two-step model with selection. The findings show that migration with remittances decreases poverty and inequality, with a poverty reduction effect of 11 percent and inequality reduction by 25 percent. These effects vary between different agro-ecological zones, and between rural and urban areas. Households in Coastal Zones are more dependent on remittances from migrants to reduce poverty and inequality.
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