Internal migration and the development nexus: the case of Bangladesh

The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily correspond to the views or policies of the Department for International Development (DFID), UK. People mostly migrate in order to find better jobs. Rural life is changing fast. People are far less dependent on agriculture and related work. They increasingly depend on off-farm livelihoods, which often involve some form of migration. In many cases this entails moving to urban areas and, indeed, migration accounts for about two-thirds of the urban growth seen in Bangladesh since independence. Most economic migrants to urban areas are young males, but this changed significantly with the recent increase in demand for female labour in the ready-made garment factories of Dhaka and other metropolitan areas. Migrants generally face physical insecurity, poor housing, negative discrimination by officialdom and development programmes at their places of destination. They consequently have poorer health and greater vulnerability compared to the general urban population. Remittances to rural areas generally boost consumption. They also help to expand business in agricultural products and construction materials. Remittances also helped to generate savings, the major source of capital in the absence of institutional credit on easy terms. Migration and remittances have invigorated the land tenancy market in rural areas. Research has challenged the conventional wisdom that migration transfers rural poverty to urban areas. There is ample evidence that urban immigrant households have improved their incomes since arrival. At the same time, household incomes in rural sending areas have benefited from remittances received from migrant members. Government policy has on the whole failed to address the reality of a changing rural landscape, rapid urbanisation and the contribution to both by rural-urban economic migration. Some donor policies indirectly address migration issues through capacity development programmes in small and medium sized towns, but there is no focused effort on migration issues. With the exception of UNCHR, no donors are working to protect the interests of internal migrants. The Coalition for the Urban Poor can be considered the most important pro-poor institution supporting migrants. This coalition of NGOs is actively working to uphold human rights, protect workers and alleviate urban poverty. Among other pro-poor organisations, the Municipal Development Fund has an important role to play in facilitating decentralisation by developing the technical, fiscal and administrative capabilities of municipalities and establishing a transparent and accountable system of fiscal transfer. Recommendations include: • Greater efforts …