Data and Code for Hidden Income and the Perceived Returns to Migration
Domain:
socioeconomicmobilityRecord type:
datasetsoftware
Creator:
Bas
Publisher:
ICP
Host:
This deposit includes code and data to reproduce the findings of this paper. Paper abstract below.
Abstract: In many developing economies, urban workers earn substantially more than rural workers with the same level of education. Why don't more rural workers migrate to cities? I use two field experiments in Kenya to show that low migration is partly due to underestimation of urban incomes, which is sustained by income hiding by migrants. Parents at the origin underestimate their migrant children's incomes by nearly half, and underestimation is greater when a migrant's remittance obligations are high. Providing information about urban earnings increases migration to the capital city by about 40% over two years. None. Response Rates: 497 households participated in the ULM (Urban Labor Market) experiment. 460 of those households participated in a 1-year follow-up survey, and 436 participated in a 2-year follow-up survey. 4,994 households participated in the MR (Migrant Remittances) experiment. Households in the ULM experiment were selected systematically by local survey staff. Households in the MR experiment were selected from an independent sample of rural households in western Kenya, excluding households that currently had a migrant living in Nairobi. Rural households in western Kenya with at least one person aged 18-35 living at home. face-to-face interview; telephone interview;
Abstract: In many developing economies, urban workers earn substantially more than rural workers with the same level of education. Why don't more rural workers migrate to cities? I use two field experiments in Kenya to show that low migration is partly due to underestimation of urban incomes, which is sustained by income hiding by migrants. Parents at the origin underestimate their migrant children's incomes by nearly half, and underestimation is greater when a migrant's remittance obligations are high. Providing information about urban earnings increases migration to the capital city by about 40% over two years. None. Response Rates: 497 households participated in the ULM (Urban Labor Market) experiment. 460 of those households participated in a 1-year follow-up survey, and 436 participated in a 2-year follow-up survey. 4,994 households participated in the MR (Migrant Remittances) experiment. Households in the ULM experiment were selected systematically by local survey staff. Households in the MR experiment were selected from an independent sample of rural households in western Kenya, excluding households that currently had a migrant living in Nairobi. Rural households in western Kenya with at least one person aged 18-35 living at home. face-to-face interview; telephone interview;