Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Influences of Material Aspirations on Migration

  • Published:
Demography

Abstract

In this article, we investigate the influences of material aspirations on migration in Nepal, positing that material aspirations may have important influences on decisions to migrate and where to locate. We discuss a theoretical model explaining how these aspirations might be key influences in the migration decision. Using detailed continuous migration histories from the 2008–2012 Chitwan Valley Family Study, we estimate logistic and alternative-specific conditional logit models to examine how material aspirations in Nepal influence migration rates and destinations. Our empirical analyses provide strong evidence that material aspirations have large effects on overall rates of migration and affect destination-specific migration rates, particularly for relatively wealthy Western and Asian destinations. We also show an interaction effect between material aspirations and destination-specific expected earnings in influencing people’s migration choices. It is the people with high aspirations who migrate to destinations with high earning potentials.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The Lesthaeghe and Vanderhoeft (2001) framework included a third dimension: willingness. They indicated that this dimension “refers to considerations of legitimacy and normative (e.g., ethical, religious) acceptability of the new pattern of action” (pp. 240–241). This willingness dimension is important to consider when the new behavior is considered by some to be immoral, as it often is in the case of birth control, which was the main focus of Lesthaeghe and Vanderhoeft. We do not further discuss the willingness dimension here because morality is not a factor in migration decisions in Nepal or many other places around the world.

  2. In conditional logit, individual-level variables can be included as interactions with destinations so that they can be nested with a conventional multinomial model. In other words, a conventional multinomial model can be rewritten as a conditional logit model but not vice versa.

  3. As noted in Table 2, our sample is approximately three-fifths female, which is likely related to the substantially higher rate of out-migration for males.

  4. Results for control variables in Table 4, not shown, are indistinguishable from those in Table 3.

References

  • Adhikari, J. (2001). Mobility and agrarian change in central Nepal. Contributions to Nepalese Studies, 28, 247–267.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allendorf, K., & Thornton, A. (2015). Caste and choice: The influence of developmental idealism on marriage behavior. American Journal of Sociology, 121, 243–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allison, P. D. (1984). Event history analysis: Regression for longitudinal event data. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Axinn, W. G., & Thornton, A. (1993). Mothers, children, and cohabitation: The intergenerational effects of attitudes and behavior. American Sociological Review, 58, 233–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bach, R. L., & Smith, J. (1977). Community satisfaction, expectations of moving, and migration. Demography, 51, 3–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bachrach, C. A. (2014). Culture and demography: From reluctant bedfellows to committed partners. Demography, 51, 3–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bachrach, C. A., & Morgan, S. P. (2013). A cognitive-social model of fertility intentions. Population and Development Review, 39, 459–485.

  • Bhandari, P. (2016). Remittance received by households of western Chitwan Valley, Nepal: Does migrant’s destination make a difference? Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 10, 1–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhandari, P., & Chaudhary, I. (2017). A calendar method of collecting remittance use data in a remittance dependent setting of Nepal. Migration and Development, 6, 177–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bilsborrow, R. E., McDevitt, T. M., Kossoudji, S., & Fuller, R. (1987). The impact of origin community characteristics on rural-urban out-migration in a developing country. Demography, 24, 191–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bjarnason, T., & Thorlindsson, T. (2006). Should I stay or should I go? Migration expectations among youth in Icelandic fishing and farming communities. Journal of Rural Studies, 22, 290–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Central Bureau of Statistics. (2012). National Population and Housing Census 2011—National report. Kathmandu: National Planning Commission Secretariat, Government of Nepal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coale, A. J. (1973). The demographic transition reconsidered. In Proceedings of the International Population Conference, Liege, 1973 (pp. 53–57). Liege, Belgium: International Union for the Scientific Study of Population.

  • Curran, S. R., Garip, F., Chung, C. Y., & Tangchonlatip, K. (2005). Gendered migrant social capital: Evidence from Thailand. Social Forces, 84, 225–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Jong, G. F. (2000). Expectations, gender, and norms in migration decision-making. Population Studies, 4, 307–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Jong, G. F., Abad, R. G., Arnold, F., Carino, B. V., Fawcett, J. T., & Gardner, R. W. (1983). International and internal migration decision-making: A value-expectancy based analytical framework of intentions to move from a rural Philippine province. International Migration Review, 17, 470–484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Jong, G. F., & Fawcett, J. T. (1981). Motivations for migration: An assessment and a value-expectancy research model. New York, NY: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Jong, G. F., Richter, K., & Pimonpan, I. (1996). Gender, values, and intentions to move in rural Thailand. International Migration Review, 30, 748–770.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donato, K. M. (1993). Current trends and patterns in female migration: Evidence from Mexico. International Migration Review, 27, 748–771.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Du, Y., Park, A., & Wang, S. (2005). Migration and rural poverty in China. Journal of Comparative Economics, 33, 688–709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esteve, A., Lesthaeghe, R., & Lopez-Gay, A. (2012). The Latin American cohabitation boom, 1970–2007. Population and Development Review, 38, 55–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frye, M. (2012). Bright futures in Malawi’s new dawn: Educational aspirations as assertions of identity. American Journal of Sociology, 117, 1565–1624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garip, F. (2008). Social capital and migration: How do similar resources lead to divergent outcomes? Demography, 4, 591–617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghimire, D. J., Williams, N. E., Thornton, A., Young-DeMarco, L., & Bhandari, P. (2017). Strategies for origin-based surveying of international migrants. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1394178

  • Government of Nepal. (2013/2014). Labour migration for employment: A status report for Nepal: 2013/2014. Kathmandu: Department of Foreign Employment, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of Nepal.

  • Gurung, H. B. (1983). Internal and international migration in Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: HMG Population Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, J. R., & Todaro, M. P. (1970). Migration, unemployment and development: A two-sector analysis. American Economic Review, 60, 126–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, S. D., & Duncan, G. J. (1988). Multinomial and conditional logit discrete-choice models in demography. Demography, 25, 415–427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson-Hanks, J. A., Bachrach, C. A., Morgan, S. P., Kohler, H.-P., & Hoelter, L. (2011). Understanding family change and variation: Toward a theory of conjunctural action. London, UK: Springer Verlag.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, H., & Basnett, Y. (2013). Foreign employment and inclusive growth in Nepal. What can be done to improve impacts for the people and the country? London, UK: Overseas Development Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, D. S., & Papachristos, A. V. (2011). Cultural mechanisms and the persistence of neighborhood violence. American Journal of Sociology, 116, 1190–1233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kollmair, M., Manandhar, S., Subedi, B., & Thieme, S. (2006). New figures for old stories: Migration and remittances in Nepal. Migration Letters, 3, 151–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, B. A., Oropesa, R. S., & Kanan, J. W. (1994). Neigborhood context and residential mobility. Demography, 31, 249–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lesthaeghe, R., & Vanderhoeft, C. (2001). Ready, willing, and able: A conceptualization of transitions to new behavioral forms. In J. B. Casterline (Ed.), Diffusion processes and fertility transition: Selected perspectives (pp. 240–264). Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

  • Liang, Z., & White, M. J. (1997). Market transition, government policies, and interprovincial migration in China 1980–88. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 45, 321–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundquist, J. H., & Massey, D. S. (2005). Politics or economics? International migration during the Nicaraguan Contra War. Journal of Latin American Studies, 37, 29–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manski, C. F., & Wise, D. A. (1983). College choice in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S. (1990). Social structure, household strategies, and the cumulative causation of migration. Population Index, 56, 3–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., Arango, J., Hugo, G., Kouaouci, A., Pellegrino, A., & Taylor, J. E. (1993). Theories of international migration: A review and appraisal. Population & Development Review, 19, 431–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., Arango, J., Hugo, G., Kouaouci, A., Pellegrino, A., & Taylor, J. E. (1994). An evaluation of international migration theory: The North American case. Population & Development Review, 20, 699–751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., Axinn, W. G., & Ghimire, D. J. (2010a). Environmental change and out-migration: Evidence from Nepal. Population and Environment, 32, 109–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., & Espinosa, K. E. (1997). What’s driving Mexico-U.S. migration? A theoretical, empirical, and policy analysis. American Journal of Sociology, 102, 939–999.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., & Garcia España, F. (1987). The social process of international migration. Science, 237, 733–738.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., Williams, N., Axinn, W. G., & Ghimire, D. (2010b). Community services and out-migration. International Migration, 48(3), 1–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McFadden, D. (Ed.). (1974). Conditional logit analysis of qualitative choice behavior. New York, NY: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miles, A. (2015). The (re)genesis of values: Examining the importance of values for action. American Sociological Review, 80, 680–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nepal Rastra Bank. (2016). Fifth Household Budget Survey 2014/15. Kathmandu: Nepal Rastra Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nepal South Asian Centre. (1998). Nepal human development report 1998. Kathmandu: Nepal South Asia Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ozaki, M. (2012). Worker migration and remittances in South Asia (ADB South Asia Working Paper Series No. 12). Manilla, Phillipines: Asian Development Bank.

  • Petersen, T. (1986). Estimating fully parametric hazard rate models with time-dependent covariates: Use of maximum likelihood. Sociological Methods & Research, 14, 219–247.

  • Petersen, T. (1991). The statistical analysis of event histories. Sociological Methods & Research, 19, 270–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powers, D. A., & Xie, Y. (2008). Statistical methods for categorical data analysis. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rathaur, K. R. S. (2001). British Gurkha recruitment: A historical perspective. Voice of History, 16(2), 19–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed, H. E., Andrzejewski, C. S., & Whie, M. J. (2010). Men’s and women’s migration in coastal Ghana: A event history analysis. Demographic Research, 22(article 25), 771–812. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2010.22.25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ricketts, E. (1987). U. S. investment and immigration from the Caribbean. Social Problems, 34, 374–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seddon, D., Adkhikari, J., & Gurung, G. (2002). Foreign labor migration and the remittance economy of Nepal. Critical Asian Studies, 34, 157–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seddon, D., Gurung, G., & Adhikari, J. (1998). Foreign labour migration and the remittance economy of Nepal. Himalaya, 18(2), 3–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sewell, W. H. (1992). A theory of structure: Duality, agency, and transformation. American Journal of Sociology, 98, 1–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma, J., & Gurung, G. (2009). Impact of global economic slowdown on remittance inflows and poverty reduction in Nepal. Mandikhatar, Kathmandu, Nepal: Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS).

    Google Scholar 

  • Shrestha, N. R., Velu, R. P., & Conway, D. (1993). Frontier migration and upward mobility: The case of Nepal. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 41, 787–816.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • South, S. J., & Crowder, K. D. (1997). Escaping distressed neighborhoods: Individual, community, and metropolitan influences. American Journal of Sociology, 102, 1040–1084.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spear, A. (1974). Residential satisfaction as an intervening variable in residential mobility. Demography, 11, 173–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O., & Bloom, D. E. (1985). The new economics of labor migration. American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, 75, 173–178.

  • Stark, O., & Taylor, J. E. (1991). Migration incentives, migration types: The role of relative deprivation. Economic Journal, 101, 1163–1178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swidler, A. (1986). Culture in action: Symbols and strategies. American Sociological Review, 51, 273–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J. E. (1987). Undocumented Mexico–U.S. migration and the returns to households in rural Mexico. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 69, 629–638.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thieme, S., & Wyss, S. (2005). Migration patterns and remittance transfer in Nepal: A case study of Sainik Basti in Western Nepal. International Migration, 43(5), 59–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thissen, F., Droogleever Fortuijn, J., Strijker, D., & Haartsen, T. (2010). Migration intentions of rural youth in the Westhoek Flanders, Belgium and the Veenkoloniën, the Netherlands. Journal of Rural Studies, 26, 428–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornton, A., Axinn, W. G., Fricke, T., & Alwin, D. F. (2001). Values and beliefs in the lives of children and families. In A. Thornton (Ed.), The well-being of children and families: Research and data needs (pp. 215–243). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Thornton, A., Axinn, W. G., & Teachman, J. D. (1995). The influence of school enrollment and accumulation on cohabitation and marriage in early adulthood. American Sociological Review, 60, 762–774.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornton, A., & Rodgers, W. L. (1987). The influence of individual and historical time on marital dissolution. Demography, 24, 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Todaro, M. P., & Maruszko, L. (1987). Illegal migration and U.S. immigration reform: A conceptual framework. Population & Development Review, 13, 101–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaisey, S. (2009). Motivation and justification: A dual-process model of culture in action. American Journal of Sociology, 114, 1675–1715.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Dalen, H. P., & Henkens, K. (2013). Explaining emigration intentions and behaviour in the Netherlands, 2005–10. Population Studies, 67, 225–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VanWey, L. K. (2005). Land ownership as a determinant of international and internal migration in Mexico and internal migration in Thailand. International Migration Review, 39, 141–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Victor, E. C., Miles, A., & Vaisey, S. (2014). The role of moral worldviews in predicting sexual behavior from adolescence to emerging adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Research, 30, 779–799.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, M. J., & Liang, Z. (1998). The effect of immigration on the internal migration of the native-born population, 1981–1990. Population Research and Policy Review, 17, 141–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, N. (2009). Education, gender, and migration in the context of social change. Social Science Research, 38, 883–896.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, N. E., Axinn, W., Ghimire, D., Jennings, E., & Sainju-Pradhan, M. (2012). A micro-level event-centered approach to investigating armed conflict and population responses. Demography, 49, 1521–1549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, N. E., Thornton, A., & Young-DeMarco, L. C. (2014). Migrant values and beliefs: How are they different and how do they change? Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 40, 796–813.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winters, P., de Janvry, A., & Sadoulet, E. (2001). Family and community networks in Mexico-U.S. migration. Journal of Human Resources, 36, 159–184.

  • World Bank. (2009). Impact of global financial crisis on South Asia. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2016). Migration and remittances factbook 2016 (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Christine Bachrach, Katharine Donato, Douglas Massey, and Michael White for their helpful advice and comments on an earlier version of this article. Also appreciated is the input from anonymous reviewers. We also appreciate the research support provided by a grant (R01 HD078397) from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Our research was also supported by NICHD research grants (R24 HD041028 and P2CHD041028) to the Population Studies Center of the University of Michigan and by an NICHD research infrastructure grant (R24 HD042828) to the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology at the University of Washington. The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48106, USA

    Arland Thornton & Jeffrey Swindle

  2. Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48106, USA

    Arland Thornton, Prem Bhandari, Cathy Sun & Jeffrey Swindle

  3. Survey Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48106, USA

    Arland Thornton & Linda Young-DeMarco

  4. Department of Sociology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Nathalie E. Williams & Christina Hughes

  5. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Nathalie E. Williams

  6. Department of Sociology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    Yu Xie

Authors
  1. Arland Thornton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nathalie E. Williams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Prem Bhandari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Linda Young-DeMarco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Cathy Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jeffrey Swindle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Christina Hughes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Yu Xie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arland Thornton.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Thornton, A., Williams, N.E., Bhandari, P. et al. Influences of Material Aspirations on Migration. Demography 56, 75–102 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-018-0751-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-018-0751-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation