Year: 2022
Type: preprint
Abstract: A growing literature on the demographic impacts of climate change has shown that temperature and precipitation variability disrupts migration patterns throughout the developing world. The empirical record today represents a significant improvement over what was available just a decade ago, but it is nonetheless characterized by important gaps that limit the substantive interpretation of observed patterns. In the current study of climate-related migration in India, we aim to address at least two of these limitations by analyzing the effects of climate variability on cause-specific migration and decomposing migration outcomes between rural and urban origins and destinations. We leverage data from three rounds of the Indian Socio-Economic Survey (ISES) fielded between 1983 and 1999, which provide unique details on individuals’ pre- and post-migration locations and their self-reported reasons for migration. We find temperature and precipitation variability to be associated with reduced migration, particularly labor- and family-related moves. The relationship between climate variability and migration outcomes is not found to vary significantly between rural and urban areas. Migration outcomes among women are found to be more sensitive to climate variability than among men, particularly for family- and marriage-related migration.
Authors: Carolyn B. Reyes, Brian C. Thiede
Institution: Pennsylvania State University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4214851826