Reexamining the Influence of Conditional Cash Transfers on Migration from a Gendered Lens: Comment

Oded Stark

No 14068, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: In a recent article, "Reexamining the influence of conditional cash transfers on migration from a gendered lens," Hughes (2019) claimed that conditional cash transfers, CCT, limit the likelihood of migration by women, compensating them for giving up an attractive migration option. I question the analysis that lies behind this claim. I argue that in seeking to understand the likelihood of women migrating if they participate in a CCT program, issues of selectivity, endogeneity, and optimization cannot be set aside. In particular, it is not that receiving CCT curtails a migration option; it is that not contemplating migration encourages women to accept CCT. And if a household perspective is brought to bear, then a household's free choices weaken the appeal of migration to women. This reduction in appeal does not arise from an exogenously imposed curb but rather from endogenously determined preferences.

Keywords: selectivity and endogeneity; conditional cash transfers; revision of the comparative advantage of household members; women's migration; household's optimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B54 D13 G51 J16 J61 O15 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 7 pages
Date: 2021-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme and nep-mig
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: Demography, 2021, 58 (1), 379 - 381

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Journal Article: Reexamining the influence of conditional cash transfers on migration from a gendered lens: Comment (2021)
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