Remittances and well-being among rural-to-urban migrants in China
نویسندگان
چکیده
Remittances and Well-Being among Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China The main objective of this paper is to propose a systematic approach to empirically analyse the effect of remittances on the utility of migrants, as proxied by their subjective well-being (SWB). Using data from a new survey on China (RUMiC), we estimate models in which a measure of subjective wellbeing is regressed on the level of remittances, and we find a sizeable positive correlation. The effect of remittances on well-being varies with the socioeconomic characteristics of migrants, migration experience and the diversity of family arrangements. As a complementary objective, we use SWB measures to elicit the motivations behind remittances and find evidence that both altruistic (such as pure altruism and reciprocity) and contractual motivations (such as co-insurance and investment) are at work among rural-to-urban migrants in China. JEL Classification: J61, D63, D64, I3
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