Risk sharing and internal migration

Joachim De Weerdt and Kalle Hirvonen

No 6429, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: Over the past two decades, more than half the population in rural Tanzania migrated within the country, profoundly changing the nature of traditional institutions such as informal risk sharing. Mass internal migration has created geographically disperse networks, on which the authors collected detailed panel data. By quantifying how shocks and consumption co-vary across linked households, they show how migrants unilaterally insure their extended family members at home. This finding contradicts risk-sharing models based on reciprocity, but is consistent with assistance driven by social norms. Migrants sacrifice 3 to 7 percent of their very substantial consumption growth to provide this insurance, which seems too trivial to have any stifling effect on their growth through migration.

Keywords: Population Policies; Consumption; Anthropology; Inequality; Labor Policies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-04-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-dev and nep-mig
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Risk Sharing and Internal Migration (2016)
Working Paper: Risk-sharing and internal migration (2015)
Working Paper: Risk sharing and internal migration (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6429

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