Title
Remittances and Well-Being among Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China
Author(s)
Alpaslan Akay Alpaslan Akay (Institute for the Study of Labor)
Corrado Giulietti Corrado Giulietti (Institute for the Study of Labor)
Juan D. Robalino Juan Robalino (Cornell University)
Klaus F. Zimmermann Klaus Zimmermann (Institute for the Study of Labor)
Abstract
The main objective of this paper is to propose a systematic approach to empirically analyse the relationship between sending remittances and the utility of migrants, as proxied by their subjective well-being (SWB). Using data from a new survey on China, we estimate models in which a SWB measure is regressed on the level of remittances, finding a sizeable positive correlation. The estimates vary with the socio-economic characteristics of migrants, migration experience and the diversity of family arrangements. As a complementary objective, we use SWB measures to elicit the motivations behind remittances, finding evidence that both altruistic and contractual motivations are at work among rural-to-urban migrants in China.
Creation Date
2013-02
Section URL ID
IRS
Paper Number
572
URL
https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01cn69m419r/4/Remittances%20&%20Wellbeing%20Zimmermann.pdf
File Function
Jel
J61, D64, I3
Keyword(s)
Migrants, subjective well-being, remittances, China
Suppress
false
Series
1