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Gendered migration responses to drought in Malawi

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2021

Luis G. Becerra-Valbuena  and
Katrin Millock
Luis G. Becerra-Valbuena
Affiliation:
Paris School of Economics, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, 48 Boulevard Jourdan, 75014Paris Cedex 14, France
Katrin Millock*
Affiliation:
CNRS, Paris School of Economics, Paris, France
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: millock@univ-paris1.fr
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Abstract

Migration is a common means of adaptation to weather shocks. Previous research has identified heterogeneous effects according to age, sex, and wealth, but little is still known about how marriage-related institutions affect such migration. Relying on a quasi-experimental identification strategy, we analyze marriage- and work-related migration in Malawi following large droughts, separating the effects for female and male migrants according to different age groups. The analysis based on stated motives of migration reveals marginal decreases in marriage-related migration among girls, but increases in marriage-related migration within districts for women in older age groups. We also find large increases in work-related between-district migration for boys, and to a smaller extent also for girls following severe drought. The results add to the evidence of the potentially adverse effects of migration as a coping mechanism following drought when other means of insurance do not exist.

Keywords

Child marriageclimate changedroughtsinternal migrationsub-Saharan Africa

JEL classification

Q54: Climate • Natural Disasters and Their Management • Global Warming O15: Human Resources • Human Development • Income Distribution • Migration R23: Regional Migration • Regional Labor Markets • Population • Neighborhood Characteristics J12: Marriage • Marital Dissolution • Family Structure • Domestic Abuse
Type
Research Paper
Information
Journal of Demographic Economics , Volume 87 , Special Issue 3: Climate Migration , September 2021 , pp. 437 - 477
Copyright
Copyright © Université catholique de Louvain 2021

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