The impacts of maternal migration on the cognitive development of preschool-aged children left behind in rural China

Yu Bai, Ning Yang, Lei Wang and Siqi Zhang

World Development, 2022, vol. 158, issue C

Abstract: Preschool-aged children account for over 38 per cent of those left behind. Previous research suggests that maternal migration during early childhood may create a greater negative impact, however, the literature on the effect of maternal migration on cognitive development of preschool aged children is rare. This study uses a unique panel dataset following children from infancy to 63 months and their caregivers to estimate the causal effects of maternal migration on the critical cognitive development of children left behind. We find that maternal migration increases the probability of cognitive delay by six percentage points. Possible mechanisms include a generational shift in parenting and feeding practices leading to reduced engagement in stimulating activities and dietary diversity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the causal effects of maternal migration on cognition during the first six years of life in rural China.

Keywords: Cognition; Early childhood development; Left-behind children; Migration; Preschool (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 J13 J61 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:158:y:2022:i:c:s0305750x22001978

DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106007

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