Migration, income pooling and food deprivation

Abstract

Income pooling in the context of geographically stretched households, that is, households with migrants who maintain close relations and economic ties with household members left behind, is examined in this article. The focus is also directed at evaluating whether migration assists in reducing food deprivation in the household of origin. A model to generalise the relationship between the migrant and the family left behind is presented and then applied to Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zimbabwe. The analysis is tripartite. First, the determinants of migrant remittances are established; second, tests of income pooling between migrant remittances and income of the household at origin are conducted; and third, the impact of migration on the family left behind is examined in the context of food deprivation. Results show that gender is not a determinant of remittances, but it matters for income pooling of remittances with income at the household of origin on frequent and low‐cost purchases. The evidence provided challenges the idea that a household is a separate and independent unit composed of co‐residents eating from the same pot.

Social policy in Africa: Risks, protection, and dynamics

“…Despite being labelled as "informal," much welfare provision of this kind involves "thick institutions" with elaborate and deep-rooted structures. Subsequently, recent work has proposed that rather than seek to simply displace informal local social assistance, policy makers and the donor community should seek ways of incorporating and linking them with formal social protection system provided by the state and market (Dafuleya, 2023;Nowak-Garmer, 2023). These authors suggest various opportunities and novel approaches to link parallel systems of informal and formal welfare, such as enhancing the financial capabilities of informal savings and insurance societies or partnering government social workers with informal carers.…”