What Factors Affect Households' Decision to Be a New “International Migrant Household” in Rural Bangladesh? Evidence from a Unique Panel Data

We explore the role of households’ economic status and migration network on the probability of becoming a new international migrant household while controlling for other conventional parameters. We use the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey data, a nationally representative panel for rural Bangladesh covering three periods – 2012, 2015, and 2018. Based on a dynamic panel probit model, we find that being from the top four income deciles in the base year (2012) leads to a statistically significant higher probability of being a migrant household in a later period. We also observe a strong impact of the migration network. Having a family member abroad in the baseline increases the probability of having a new migrant in the later periods significantly. In addition, being in the migrant-prone area increases the probability of sending a new member abroad. However, the village migration network is a weaker predictor of future migration than the family network.