Internal Labor Migration as a Shock Coping Strategy: Evidence from a Typhoon
- (pp. 123-53)
Abstract
We analyze how internal labor migration facilitates shock coping in rural economies. Employing high-precision satellite data, we identify objective variations in the inundations generated by a catastrophic typhoon in Vietnam and match them with household panel data before and after the shock. We find that, following a massive drop in income, households cope mainly through labor migration to urban areas. Households with settled migrants ex ante receive more remittances. Nonmigrant households react by sending new members away who then remit similar amounts than established migrants. This mechanism is most effective with long-distance migration, while local networks fail to provide insurance. (JEL J61, O15, P25, P36, Q54, R23)Citation
Gröger, André, and Yanos Zylberberg. 2016. "Internal Labor Migration as a Shock Coping Strategy: Evidence from a Typhoon." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 8 (2): 123-53. DOI: 10.1257/app.20140362Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J61 Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- P25 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
- P36 Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions: Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training: Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty
- Q54 Climate; Natural Disasters and Their Management; Global Warming
- R23 Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics
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