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Impact of Rural Out-Migration on Vulnerability to Rural Multidimensional Poverty in Southern Ethiopia

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Abstract

Though few studies have examined the impact of rural–urban migration on a unidimensional measure of welfare, evidence on the impact of rural–urban and international migration on vulnerability to rural multidimensional poverty of households is undocumented. This study examined the impact of rural–urban and international migration on vulnerability to rural multidimensional poverty by applying the new economics labor migration theory as a theoretical framework, and the multinomial endogenous switching regression as an analytical model. Primary data were gathered from samples of 415 households using stratified random sampling in southern Ethiopia in the year 2021. The descriptive results showed that the incidences of rural multidimensional poverty and vulnerability to rural multidimensional poverty of households are 72.3 and 84.10% respectively in the study area. The average vulnerability of households with international migrants is significantly lower by 6.33% compared to households without migrants while the average rural multidimensional poverty of households without migrants is significantly higher by 15.71% compared to households with international migrants. Likewise, the average rural multidimensional poverty of households with rural–urban migrants is significantly higher by 17.34% compared to households with international migrants. The regression result of the multinomial endogenous switching model revealed that participation in international migration reduces rural multidimensional poverty and vulnerability by 34.32 and 12.33% whereas participation in rural–urban migration reduces rural multidimensional poverty and vulnerability by 20.63 and 11.42% respectively. As well, participation in rural–urban and international migration significantly increases kilocalories per adult equivalent per day of households by 29.32 and 53.17% respectively. The result supports the remittance hypothesis of the new economics labor migration theory. Hence, improving access to capital, agricultural land, and viable on-farm and non-farm employment by rural households would reduce both ex-post and ex-ante poverty of households and minimize the current wave of youth out-migration in southern Ethiopia.

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Notes

  1. Gots are the lowest level of administration in the study area which mostly contain more than 50 households. From a total of 147 gots in all sample Kebeles, 36 sample gots were included in the study.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are highly grateful to Haramaya University and Arba Minch University for providing the required financial and material supports for this research work. We also would like to thank all data collectors, leaders of sample Kebeles, and administrators of sample districts and zones for their kind contributions for the successful completion of this study.   

Funding

This research work was supported by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) under the grant number of PH/TH/21–013 (Award-1755).

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  1. School of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

    Fassil Eshetu, Jema Haji & Abule Mehare

  2. Ethiopian Economic Association, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Mengistu Ketema

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Eshetu, F., Haji, J., Ketema, M. et al. Impact of Rural Out-Migration on Vulnerability to Rural Multidimensional Poverty in Southern Ethiopia. Int. Migration & Integration 24, 1175–1209 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-022-00998-3

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