This paper investigates the motives behind internal income transfers through an analysis
of original survey data. Though there has been much research on this topic, few studies have
addressed the role of seasonal migration and factors specifically relevant to women (such as
number of children) in remittance behavior. Both issues are investigated here. Over 100 female
migrant domestic workers living in Dakar, Senegal were given a survey on their remittance
behaviors, work, and family situations. The correlations between percent of income remitted
and explanatory variables such as age, number of children, and status as a seasonal migrant, was
used to determine the characteristics of migrants who remit the most. This information was then
used to draw conclusions on migrants motives for remitting. Three main results were established. First, status as a seasonal migrant is associated with a higher percent of income remitted relative to non-seasonal migrants, suggesting that seasonal migrants have a greater stake in their home community due to regular stays at home. This also reflects the idea that families use rural-urban migration as a tool for household consumption smoothing. Secondly, having a
small number of children is associated with a higher percent of income remitted relative to those with many or no children, indicating that the women with one or two young children leave them in care of their grandparents, and that remittances are a form of payment for the childs needs. Finally, migrants with a deceased father remit less than those with a living father, which supports an insurance motive.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04212011-150348 |
| Date | 05 May 2011 |
| Creators | Barnett, Allyson Marie |
| Contributors | Dr. Gene Gruver, Dr. Fatma El-Hamidi, Dr. Marla Ripoll, Dr. Jean-Jacques Sene |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04212011-150348/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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