Three Essays on International Migration and Remittances

Date of Award

12-2023

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Economics

First Advisor

Susan Pozo, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Christine Moser, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Matiur Rahman. Ph.D.

Keywords

International migration, remittances, child marriages

Abstract

This dissertation concerns the effects of international migration and remittances. The study explores two pressing issues: child marriages and livelihood strategies and how the receipts of remittances from abroad influence these outcomes. The research objectives and findings of each of the three essays is summarized below:

The first essay, titled “ Do remittances protect against child marriages? The Rohingyas in Bangladesh”, focuses on the role that remittances could play in combating this harmful practice among the displaced Rohingya population. Nearly one million Rohingya refugees have been living in one of the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. I use the first wave of the Cox’s Bazar Panel Survey (CBPS) conducted from March to August 2019 in Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban districts of Bangladesh to study child marriage among this population. The CBPS is a joint venture between the Yale Macmillan Center Program on Refugees, Forced Displacement, and Humanitarian Responses (Yale Macmillan PRFDHR), the Gender & Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) program, and the Poverty and Equity Global Practice (GPVDR) of the World Bank. The analysis relies on linear probability models (LPM) and two stage least squares (2SLS) estimation methods. The results suggest that the prevalence of child marriage is more common among Rohingyas than in the local adjoining non-Rohingya community. The estimation results also suggest that remittances act as a protective tool reducing child marriage for the Rohingyas in Bangladesh.

The second essay, titled “Livelihood Strategies and Remittance Receipts: A Comparative Study of Rohingya Refugees and the Host Community in Cox’s Bazar”, explores the impact of remittances on the livelihood strategies of the Rohingya refugees and the host community living in the southern part of Bangladesh. It is one of the few studies that try to ascertain the impact of remittances in a refugee camp using rigorous econometrics methods since most previous studies were qualitative. I use the first wave of Cox’s Bazar Panel Survey 2019, conducted in Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban districts of Bangladesh. The analysis relies on both linear probability models and two stage least squares estimation methods. The results suggest that remittances do impact the livelihood strategies of the host community and the Rohingya refugees differently. As far as the host community is concerned, remittances positively affect the likelihood that households earn income by supplying their labor in the market and through asset returns. However, remittances have a positive effect on Rohingya households’ involvement in labor earnings only.

The third essay titled “The Impact of Remittance Receipts on Child Marriages: Evidence from Bangladesh”, examines the impact of remittances on the incidence of child marriage in the entire country of Bangladesh. I use the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2016 -most recently published nationally representative dataset. It is the first micro-level study that tries to link remittances and the incidence of child marriage in the Bangladesh economy. The analysis relies on linear probability models and two stage least squares estimation methods. The results suggest that remittances raise the likelihood of child marriages among Bangladeshi households.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Abstract Only

Restricted to Campus until

12-1-2025

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