In Bihar, migration lowest among poorest households: IIT study

NEW DELHI: A study by scholars at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, has revealed that migration is lowest among the poorest households in Bihar. The study, titled ‘Poverty, Migration and Development in rural Bihar’, points to poverty as the constraining factor in the ability to migrate among the lowest income groups.

The study shows that the rate of migration increases for subsequent income groups. In 2016, migration rates were the lowest in the bottom-most income quintile and kept increasing until the fourth quintile, only to fall again in the top income quintile. This pattern held over time, across all three waves of migration in 1999, 2011 and 2016, said an IIT Hyderabad statement on the study.

“The broad objectives of this research were to study the socio-economic attributes of migration; changes in the patterns of migration over time; linkages between poverty, migration and development; shifts in the sources of rural income, and the role of remittances therein,” said Amrita Datta from the department of development students at IIT Hyderabad.

‘Paradoxical decision’

The study also found that nine out of 10 migrants preferred to return home even though 98 percent of the participants considered migration as beneficial. It points to the high cost of migration as the reason behind this ‘seemingly paradoxical decision’.

Over time, the percentage of households with migrants increased from 45 percent in 1999 to 62 percent in 2011 to 65 percent in 2016. Thus, data from recent rounds suggest that Bihar's high rates of migration may be stabilizing, said the statement.

The survey covered 9,737 individuals in 1,588 households, of which about two-third of the households were also studied earlier in 1998-99 and 2009-11. It includes data from a primary study undertaken in 12 villages spread over seven districts.

The research is done in collaboration with the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi and supported by Indian Council of Social Science Research.

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