Who are the climate migrants and where do they go? Evidence from rural India

Šedová, Barbora; Kalkuhl, Matthias

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104848

Cited by 76 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…We find that while a single drought has a relatively moderate migration-inducing effect, a series of severe shocks do have a much larger effect. This result complements existing evidence from studies on natural disasters in Mexico and South East Asia (Bohra-Mishra et al 2014;Sedova -Kalkuhl 2020;Saldana-Zorrilla -Sandberg 2009). Our study shows the importance of incorporating the impact of cumulative past weather shocks, rather than only recent single events, in the empirical investigation of migration decision.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Cumulative Climate Shocks and Migratory Flows: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

2022

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Cumulative Climate Shocks and Migratory Flows: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

2022

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“…For example, one family member may leave temporarily or permanently, to generate income [15] and send remittances to help the family farm recover from past disasters, cope with current hazards or invest in adaption strategies to manage future disaster risks [17,19]. Eventually, the family may decide whether some or all need to permanently leave as so-called "climate migrants" to escape future disaster risks [48]. Natural disasters cause sizeable direct and indirect damage to both agricultural production and smallholder homesteads on an annual basis.…”

Section: Remittances For Risk Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

When the “Strong Arms” Leave the Farms—Migration, Gender Roles and Risk Reduction in Vietnam

Simelton¹,

Duong²,

Houzer³

2021

Sustainability

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For many family farms, migration is one strategy for reducing poverty and vulnerability to both natural hazards and economic risk. While more men typically migrate to work, the implications of this on the household are inconclusive, especially for the women who remain on the farms. This study employs a gender lens to examine the effects of economically driven migration on household decision-making, farm labor and disaster risk reduction, focusing on two disaster-prone regions with high poverty rates in Vietnam: Dien Bien (Northwest) and Ha Tinh (North Central Coast) provinces. Surveys of 228 households with at least one migrant worker showed a new generation of young male and female migrants, and that men over 30 years of age migrated for longer periods and more frequently than their spouses. Intrahousehold impacts differed according to risk strategies. In areas with a lower-risk coping strategy (Dien Bien), seasonal jobs coincided with periods of less intense farming activities. During the absence of male family members, women temporarily made more domestic decisions. In areas with a higher-risk adaptation strategy (Ha Tinh), farming was planned for longer absences; thus decisions remained largely unchanged. Remittances invested into agriculture contributed to shortening the recovery period after disasters and, in some cases, diversifying farming systems. The migrant’s absence was offset by relatives and neighbors as essential labor reserves. New resilient farming systems need to be disaster proof, gender-sensitive and free up labor.

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“…Changes in migration patterns have been among the plausible social impacts of climate change given most attention. A burgeoning literature on climate-related migration reveals how temperature and precipitation fluctuations impact human mobility, particularly in the Global South (Fussell, Hunter, & Gray, 2014;Sedova & Kalkuhl, 2020). Although popular accounts of climate and migration have emphasized the likelihood of climate-induced population displacement, the existing scientific work offers a more complicated picture.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although popular accounts of climate and migration have emphasized the likelihood of climate-induced population displacement, the existing scientific work offers a more complicated picture. Climate shocks may increase or decrease migration; and climate effects vary significantly by migrant destination, gender, socioeconomic status, and national context (Baez, Caruso, Mueller, & Niu, 2017;Bohra-Mishra et al, 2016;Mastrorillo et al, 2016;Sedova & Kalkuhl, 2020). As such, the record to date robustly critiques the conventional, neo-Malthusian narratives of climate and migration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic Variability and Cause-Specific Migration in Rural and Urban India

Reyes¹,

Thiede²

2022

Preprint

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A growing literature on the demographic impacts of climate change has shown that temperature and precipitation variability disrupts migration patterns throughout the developing world. The empirical record today represents a significant improvement over what was available just a decade ago, but it is nonetheless characterized by important gaps that limit the substantive interpretation of observed patterns. In the current study of climate-related migration in India, we aim to address at least two of these limitations by analyzing the effects of climate variability on cause-specific migration and decomposing migration outcomes between rural and urban origins and destinations. We leverage data from three rounds of the Indian Socio-Economic Survey (ISES) fielded between 1983 and 1999, which provide unique details on individuals’ pre- and post-migration locations and their self-reported reasons for migration. We find temperature and precipitation variability to be associated with reduced migration, particularly labor- and family-related moves. The relationship between climate variability and migration outcomes is not found to vary significantly between rural and urban areas. Migration outcomes among women are found to be more sensitive to climate variability than among men, particularly for family- and marriage-related migration.

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Who are the climate migrants and where do they go? Evidence from rural India

Cited by 76 publications

References 63 publications

Cumulative Climate Shocks and Migratory Flows: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Cumulative Climate Shocks and Migratory Flows: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

When the “Strong Arms” Leave the Farms—Migration, Gender Roles and Risk Reduction in Vietnam

Climatic Variability and Cause-Specific Migration in Rural and Urban India

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