Restricting mothers’ international migration and human capital investment

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 unique Sri Lankan 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. • We analyze the effect of a unique policy in Sri Lanka that restricts mothers with young children from migrating internationally for employment on human capital investment. • The policy reduced international migration and increased mothers’ presence at home. • It led to improved child health (fewer inpatient stays) and positive spillovers on older siblings’ education (reduced grade retention). • The drop in foreign remittances was offset by an increase in domestic remittances.