The Impact of Parents Migration on the Well-Being of Children Left Behind – Initial Evidence from Romania

27 Pages Posted: 7 May 2014

See all articles by Alina Botezat

Alina Botezat

Romanian Academy - "Gh. Zane" Institute for Economic and Social Research

Friedhelm Pfeiffer

Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW); University of Mannheim - Department of Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: April 15, 2014

Abstract

Many children grow up with parents working abroad. Economists are interested in the achievement and well-being of these "home alone" children to better understand the positive and negative aspects of migration in the sending countries. This paper examines the causal effects of parents' migration on their children left home in Romania, a country where increasingly more children are left behind in recent years. Using samples from a unique representative survey carried out in 2007 instrumental variable and bivariate probit estimates have been performed. Our initial evidence demonstrates that in Romania home alone children receive higher school grades, partly because they increase their time allocation for studying. However, they are more likely to be depressed and more often suffer from health problems especially in rural areas.

Keywords: parent migration, home alone children, well-being, Romania

JEL Classification: I12, I21, J13

Suggested Citation

Botezat, Alina and Pfeiffer, Friedhelm, The Impact of Parents Migration on the Well-Being of Children Left Behind – Initial Evidence from Romania (April 15, 2014). ZEW - Centre for European Economic Research Discussion Paper No. 14-029, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2432946 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2432946

Alina Botezat

Romanian Academy - "Gh. Zane" Institute for Economic and Social Research ( email )

Teodor Codrescu 2
Iasi, 700481
Romania
004 0332-408922 (Phone)
004 0332-408922 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.ices.ro

Friedhelm Pfeiffer (Contact Author)

Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) ( email )

D-68161 Mannheim
Germany
++49 (0)621/1235-150 (Phone)
++49 (0)621/1235-225 (Fax)

University of Mannheim - Department of Economics

D-68131 Mannheim
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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