Effects of out-migration on local deforestation: Evidence from rural Myanmar

This study examines the relationship between rural out-migration and local deforestation in Mon State, Myanmar, using a novel panel dataset that combines household-level migration surveys with high-resolution remote sensing observations from 2000 to 2015. Employing dynamic panel estimation methods with a 1000-meter buffer to capture local forest changes, we find robust evidence that out-migration significantly mitigates deforestation at this hyper-local scale, with each additional migrant associated with more than 5 square meters of forest loss reduction per year. Extensive robustness checks, including falsification tests and reverse causality assessments, further reinforce the credibility of our findings. Exploring potential mechanisms, we provide suggestive evidence that remittance income facilitates household energy transitions away from biomass fuels toward electricity, thereby potentially reducing reliance on firewood and charcoal and alleviating local deforestation pressures. By identifying a novel energy-transition channel through which migration may promote environmental sustainability, this study contributes new empirical evidence to the migration–environment literature and shows that out-migration’s environmental effects extend beyond household-size changes to reshape household energy use and land-sustainability pathways in rural frontier regions.