Impacts of Civil War in Migration and Remittances: Evidence from Nepal's Districts

Remittances refer to money sent by workers to their families who migrated to foreign countries for employment to their home countries. When job opportunities are scarce with lesser infrastructure and economic development,... [ view full abstract ]

Remittances refer to money sent by workers to their families who migrated to foreign countries for employment to their home countries. When job opportunities are scarce with lesser infrastructure and economic development, members of the household emigrate to relatively more developed destinations to sustain their household income and expenditures. In my thesis, I investigate how the decade-long Maoist insurgency impact migration trends and remittance flows of Nepal at its district level. Furthermore, I also look at the impact of domestic and international migration induced by the conflict on child education. The civil war in Nepal prolonged for a decade from 1996 to 2006. I use data from The World Bank and Nepal Living Standards Survey and employ difference-in-difference strategy to analyze pre and post war effects on migration, remittances and child education. Specifically, I look at which districts of Nepal were most prone to be affected by the war, and their contributing factors. I then use the first and third waves of the surveys, 1995-1196 and 2011-12, to find migration trends. I then plan to use the attainment of a private school as opposed to a public school as an indicator of improved child education status in the household.