RIEB Discussion Paper Series No.2025-25

Title

Restricting Mothers' International Migration and Human Capital Investment

Abstract

International migration offers significant economic opportunities for developing countries, but it can also separate parents from their children, potentially harming child development. This paper examines the effects of restricting mothers' international migration on left-behind children, leveraging a Sri Lankan unique policy that restricted mothers with children under age five from migrating abroad for employment. Using a difference-in-differences approach, the results reveal the following: First, the policy reduces international migration, increasing mothers' presence at home. Second, policy exposure leads to better healthcare outcomes, including a significant reduction in inpatient stays, particularly treatment for illnesses. This improvement appears to result from increased childcare and monitoring by mothers. Although the policy decreases remittances from abroad, this reduction is offset by an increase in domestic remittances. Furthermore, we find evidence of positive spillovers on non-targeted children with younger, policy-targeted siblings, as indicated by reduced grade retention. These findings highlight the trade-offs between a mother's presence and the economic opportunities associated with international migration in shaping human capital development.

Keywords

Human capital; Health; Education; Remittance; Sri Lanka

JEL Classification

F22, F24, I12, O15

Inquiries

Takuya HASEBE
Sophia Institute for Human Security and Faculty of Liberal Arts, Sophia University, JAPAN

Yuma NORITOMO
Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, U.S.A.
Junior Research Fellow, RIEB, Kobe University, JAPAN

Bilesha WEERARATNE
Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, SRI LANKA