Survey questions on migration and remittances: what is needed for policy?

1. Survey questions on migration and remittances: what is needed for policy? David McKenzie (DECRG)

2. Policy questions we would like our survey data to allow us to answer • Which households receive remittances, how much do they receive? • Which households have migrants? • How are remittances sent, and what are the barriers to use of cheaper methods? • What is the effect of migration and remittances on outcomes like poverty, health, education, etc.?

3. Which households receive remittances? • Link to sampling • Careful questions needed to measure. Examples: • Cash vs Goods remittances and sizeable reverse flows: Cash is only 63% of all remittances received in Tonga • Questions on channels through which remittances are sent to help square survey with national accounts. • Reference period: 30% of Tongans receive remittances once a month, 14% only once a year.

4. Which households have migrants? Different survey approaches Example 1: e.g. Ghana LSS 1998/99: all members who normally live and eat their meals together, then list those who normally live there but temporarily away. Problem: ignores permanent migrants, definition of “temporarily away” can vary. Example 2: Mexican 2000 Census/ENADID: also ask – “in the last 5 years, did anyone who lives or lived with you go to live in another country?” – and collect information on each person. Advantage: captures recent permanent migrants Problem: miss migration of whole households, don’t get longer term migrations. Example 3: Mexican National Rural Household Survey (Ed Taylor). Collects data on head, spouse, all people living in household, and all sons and daughters of household head, regardless of where they live. Advantage: collect data on those who leave household, information on children who marry and move with spouse Problem: possibility of double-counting of migrants.

5. How are remittances sent, and why don’t people use the cheapest methods? Survey can show lack of knowledge

6. Linking with GPS can show lack of ATM access

7. Compare with Western Union

8. What is the effect of migration/remittances? • Policymakers often interested in the impacts of migration and remittances on host of other household outcomes: child’s education, child health, investment behavior, inequality, poverty, etc. • Need to collect this other information along with remittances to address these issues. • Also means collecting data on all household members, not just for household head. E.g. Hildenbrandt and McKenzie (2005) in Mexico find migration lowers infant mortality rates and increases birth weights, but also leads to less breast-feeding and lower immunization rates in first few years => Suggests scope for health policy

9. Careful thinking and questions are needed to identify impacts Examples: • Brazil-Nikkei project: Japanese law allows 3rd generation but not 4th generation Japanese to freely migrate => need to collect data on generation. • Tonga-New Zealand: survey built around participation in a migration lottery; but also GPS measure distance to NZ consulate where apply to migrate. • Mexico: detailed data on country of origin allows linkage to rainfall shocks database, and to pattern of initial arrival of railways • Philippines: Dean Yang uses exchange rate shocks to find impact => would not work if questionnaire didn’t ask which country migrant was working in abroad. => In other applications might want to collect data on city they are in – e.g. where in U.S., rather than just in U.S. 5) Success of propensity-score matching depends on collecting rich set of data to match on, include pre-migration labor history.

10. Linking back to Sampling methods • Collecting this detailed information requires well-trained interviewers asking detailed questions – can’t be done in 5-10 minutes outside a Western Union office. • Any attempt to generalize from data collected requires information on how representative data is.