Remittance Behaviour of Temporary Migrant Labourers of Rural India: A Case Study of West Bengal

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the factors that determine the remittance behaviour of rural migrants and their impact on household welfare. The study was conducted in selected villages of rural West Bengal. The logistic regression, coupled with ordinary least squares techniques, was used to identify the factors that ascertain the flow and size of remittances of migrant labourers. Moreover, different cross-tabulations were used to identify the impact of remittances on household welfare. The econometric analyses suggest that the gender, age of the migrants, the gender and education level of the household head, per capita monthly consumption expenditure and proportion of members migrated from the household, coupled with the number of dependents in the household, are significant determining factors in the decision of sending remittances. In contrast, the income of the migrant, non-farm employment and short-term duration, along with economic aspects of international destinations, help the migrants to send a decent size of remittances to their households at regular intervals. In addition, the variations in the socio-economic characteristics of the households have been found to be responsible for less use of remittances in improving household welfare.