Aspects of migration

Abstract

This compilation of essays attempts to expand the existing literature on migration, with a keen focus on the effects of internal migration on the local and migrant demographic, and empirically investigates these aspects in the context of internal migration in India. The first essay discusses an emerging area of concern in studies on migration, namely the impact of migration on the educational outcomes or academic performances of locals. Upon reviewing the findings of empirical investigations on the subject across different cultures and settings, it attempts to formulate a model to identify the effect of internal migration on the probability of completing secondary education for individuals in a sample, using data from the 2011 Census and five rounds of NSS Employment and Unemployment Surveys between 2004- 2012 in India. Apart from the existing channels of influence acknowledged in the theoretical literature for how migration affects the educational attainment of locals, the essay suggests that job market competition and social aspirations may also be channels of influence to explain some findings in empirical literature. The second essay discusses the impact of migration on the self-employment probabilities of locals. It provides an extensive review of the limited literature in this regard, along with a review of literature on the importance of networks to self-employed individuals and an acknowledgement of the advantages locals and natives enjoy in this specific regard. The essay estimates an empirical model to identify the effect of internal migration on the probability of being self-employed, combining data from Census 2011 and five rounds of NSS Employment and Unemployment Surveys between 2004-2012, and argues that local entrepreneurs may leverage their comparative advantages in terms of access to networks, financial capital, and information, to gain an edge over migrant entrepreneurs. The third essay attempts to investigate whether one’s migrant status influences in any way the adoption of formal insurance, while holding other considerations constant, utilising data from six waves of CMIE interviews from September 2020 till August 2022. It also extends the literature to encompass and add to the possible channels of influence – both positive and negative - through which migration may affect formal insurance uptake. It suggests that migrants may sometimes rely on formal insurance while experiencing delays and hurdles to integrating in local networks of support. It also suggests that migrating for higher incomes may reduce the benefits a migrant could derive from reciprocity-based networks with a large composition of low-income members, and can instead prompt a shift to superior, robust formal insurance.