Influences of Material Aspirations on Migration

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.

The Internetization of International Migration

“…Moreover, the digital revolution brought about by the advent of the Internet has compressed how we perceive time and space (Cairncross 1997). Migration is no exception in this revolution, and a growing literature has hypothesized both a positive and a negative link between ICTs and the decision to migrate (e.g., Dekker, Engbersen, and Faber 2016;Leurs and Smets 2018;Winkler 2017), within the general role of technology in shaping migration (Thornton et al 2019).…”

“…Before migration takes place, the Internet offers more information on the potential decision to migrate, including information about economic and social life in the destination country, which may potentially encourage people to move (Choo and Mokhtarian 2007;Vilhelmson and Thulin 2013;Withaeckx, Schrooten, and Geldof 2015;Dekker, Engbersen, and Faber 2016;Kotyrlo 2020). Furthermore, by providing information about the life of others, the Internet might shift material aspirations upwards (Clark and Senik 2010;Lohmann 2015;Thornton et al 2019), thereby increasing individuals' willingness to migrate. Internet-mediated communication may cement ties with existing networks for prospective migrants, but also enable new contacts outside of existing networks, which facilitate information flows especially for those otherwise lacking social capital and traditional migrant networks (Dekker and Engbersen 2014).…”

“…Furthermore, by providing information about the life of others, the Internet might shift material aspirations upwards (Clark and Senik 2010; Lohmann 2015; Thornton et al. 2019), thereby increasing individuals’ willingness to migrate. Internet‐mediated communication may cement ties with existing networks for prospective migrants, but also enable new contacts outside of existing networks, which facilitate information flows especially for those otherwise lacking social capital and traditional migrant networks (Dekker and Engbersen 2014).…”

Fathers’ Migration and Academic Achievement among Left-behind Children in India: Evidence of Continuity and Change in Gender Preferences

“…Migration, however, is not driven by economic necessity alone but is also shaped by rising aspirations in modernizing countries (VanWey 2005; Thornton et al 2019). In India, education has long been perceived as a tool of social mobility (Dreze and Sen 1995; Vaid 2016); thus, increased investments in children’s education may fall within the broader purview of the migrant family’s heightened aspirations.…”

Developmental idealism and migration: theorizing their relationship and an empirical example from Nepal

“…We build off previous work about the influence of migration in distributing resources and ideas to make theoretical arguments about how migration can be a global disseminator of DI (Compernolle & Axinn, 2019;Duquette-Rury et al, 2018;Krawatzek & Lea, 2019;Lacroix et al, 2016;Levitt & Lamba-Nieves, 2011;Portes et al, 1980;Vari-Lavoisier, 2016). We also build off previous work about the importance of ideas in influencing migration to show how endorsement of DI culture could be an important force affecting both the decision to migrate and the choice of migration destinations (Carling & Schewel, 2018;Deane, 1990;Fischer & Malmberg, 2001;Hughes et al, 2020;Irwin et al, 2004;De Jong, 2000;De Jong et al, 1996;Ryo, 2013;Schewel, 2019;Thornton et al, 2019aThornton et al, , 2019c.…”