Emigration, Remittances and the Education of Children Staying Behind: Evidence from Tajikistan

23 Pages Posted: 29 Nov 2015

See all articles by Barbara Dietz

Barbara Dietz

Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Kseniia Gatskova

Osteuropa-Institut (OEI)

Artjoms Ivlevs

University of Nottingham - Leverhulme Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy (GEP)

Abstract

We study the relationship between migration and children's education in Tajikistan – one of the poorest and most remittance-dependent economies in the world. The analysis of a unique three-wave household panel survey reveals that emigration of family members is negatively associated with children's school attendance. Receiving remittances does not offset this negative effect. Migration of non-parent family members (such as siblings) is particularly detrimental to school attendance, especially among older children and children from less educated households. This supports a conjecture that emigration in Tajikistan has a negative signaling effect on the education of children staying behind.

Keywords: migration, remittances, schooling, Tajikistan

JEL Classification: I26, J61, O15

Suggested Citation

Dietz, Barbara A. and Gatskova, Kseniia and Ivlevs, Artjoms, Emigration, Remittances and the Education of Children Staying Behind: Evidence from Tajikistan. IZA Discussion Paper No. 9515, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2696353 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2696353

Barbara A. Dietz (Contact Author)

Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies ( email )

Landshuterstraße 4
Regensburg, D-93407
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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

Kseniia Gatskova

Osteuropa-Institut (OEI) ( email )

Landshuter Straße 4
Regensburg, 93047
Germany

Artjoms Ivlevs

University of Nottingham - Leverhulme Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy (GEP) ( email )

University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD
United Kingdom
+44 (0)115 846 8417 (Phone)
+44 (0)115 951 4159 (Fax)

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