Saturday November 7, 03:25 AM

Source: Indian Express Finance

Report card

By fe Bureau
This paper* has attempted to comprehend the nexus between migration and urban poverty in India: Decision to migrate is mostly a choice except in compelling circumstances and, therefore, needs to be examined in terms of its economic outcomes. This paper deals with migration decisions to urban areas that are backed by economic rationale and attempts to understand gains accruing to individuals from migration, in terms of poverty outcomes. The analysis is based on the 55th round survey data on Employment-Unemployment Survey 1999-2000 provided by the National Sample Survey Organisation. We undertake a broad socio-economic profiling of the migrant households in urban India and explore the dynamics of poverty among inter-state as well as intra-state migrants to urban destinations. The analysis reveals that migrants disadvantaged in terms of caste, education and residence earn poorer returns to migration. While returns to migration have proved to be positive with increased duration at the destination, the characteristic endowment like education and social group identity seem to make a further difference. From our empirical analysis it is evident that low-income states were major senders of inter-state migrants and high-income states were major receivers. These low-income states are characterised by low levels of intra-state migration indicating that migration is linked with disparity in regional development. * William Joe, Priyajit Samaiyar, US Mishra; Migration and Urban Poverty in India, Some Preliminary Observations, Working Paper 414, September 2009, Centre for Development Studies