COMING OF AGE IN THE AGE OF MIGRATION: MIGRATION IN THE TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD IN A LOWER INCOME SETTING

This dissertation examines the intersection of migration and the transition to adulthood (TTA) in Nepal using a life course framework. Drawing on life course theory’s concepts of linked lives, institutional embeddedness, and cumulative pathways, I analyze how migration is rooted in youth TTA trajectories amid rising temporary labor migration, strong intergenerational ties, and persistent gender norms. Paper One uses yearly data on marriage, childbearing, migration, and education from the Chitwan Valley Family Study (CVFS) to detail the pathways to adulthood in Nepal, considering how migration is embedded within these trajectories and how membership into these trajectories is shaped by socio-demographic characteristics. Paper Two also uses CVFS to test the association between membership into these clusters with exposure to parental migration. Paper 3 uses 60 semi-structured interviews with young adults and their mothers to understand how they conceptualize migration within the broader process of becoming an adult. Across all three papers, findings reveal that migration has become increasingly embedded within TTA pathways. Paper 1 reveals that the integration of migration into TTA pathways varies by age cohort and gender. Paper 2 test the association between parental separation and membership into these clusters and reveals that paternal separation, largely from migration, encourages sons’ pre-marital migration, while maternal separation, primarily through migration, is linked to more novel and education-intensive trajectories. And the interviews in Paper 3 underscore migration’s dual role as both a personal strategy and a moral obligation to family and nation. Collectively, this dissertation reveals how migration functions not just as a life event but as a structuring force in the transition to adulthood.