Internal vs. International Migration: Impacts of Remittances on Child Well-Being in Vietnam

Abstract

This paper focuses on the effects of domestic and international remittances on children's well-being. Using data from the 1992/93 and 1997/98 Vietnam Living Standards Surveys, we investigate average school attendance and child labour in remittance recipient and non-recipient households. The results of our cross-section and panel analyses indicate that remittances increase schooling and reduce child labour. Although international remittances are found to have a stronger beneficial impact than domestic remittances in the cross-section analysis, the panel analysis reverses this result, showing that the only significant impact stems from domestic remittances.

Keywords: migration, remittances, schooling, child labour, panel data, Vietnam

JEL Classification: F22, I39, J13, O15