When the Cat's Away : The Effects of Spousal Migration on Investments on Children

Lucia, Rizzica ; Rizzicas, Lucia

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: migration;    child labor;    household decision making;    household budget;    education;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7838
RP-ID  :  WPS7838

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Household expenditures forchildren-related goods may change when one of the parentmigrates and do so differently depending on whether it isthe mother or the father that leaves. A sequential modelthat explains migration and budget allocation choices isproposed and its predictions are tested on data fromIndonesia. Selection of households into female migration isaccounted for using a set of instrumental variables derivedfrom the model. Results show that when children are leftwith fathers, the household budget is significantly divertedtoward the purchase of adult private goods, but the share ofbudget devoted to children remains unaffected becausemothers compensate by giving up their own privateconsumption and sending home more remittances.