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Men's Migration and Women's Health in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of Migration's Economic Returns and Spousal Communication

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: In this study, we investigate the association between men's labor migration and changes in their non-migrating wives' self-rated health (SRH) over time using longitudinal data from rural Mozambique. In addition to comparing wives of non-migrants and wives of migrants, we account for variation in the economic impact of migration and in migrants' phone communication with their spouses. We find that migrants' wives are significantly less likely to report low SRH, compared to non-migrants' wives, net of other factors. However, this net advantage is concentrated among migrants' wives who receive frequent remittances and who report that their households' conditions have improved thanks to husband's migration. We also find that women who engage in frequent phone communication with their migrant husbands have decreased likelihoods of low SRH, compared to migrants' wives who do not communicate with their husbands during their migration and to women married to non-migrants, regardless of other characteristics. We interpret these findings within the context of multifaceted gendered implications of men's migration for left-behind women's health and wellbeing.

Source: International Migration Review

DOI: 10.1177/01979183231225942

Authors: Natalie Jansen, Victor Agadjanian

Institutions: Harvard University, University of California, Los Angeles

Language: English

Topic: Migration and Labor Dynamics

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities, Gender equality, Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: green

Funder: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development