Labor migration from rural areas is a conspicuous phenomenon in developing countries. Due to lack of employment opportunities and insufficient income from farming in rural areas, migrating to the urban areas or overseas for work is one of the limited options available to poor villagers. This paper analyzes labor out-migration based on data from a survey of migrant-sending areas in rural Pakistan and aims to identify household characteristics that influence migration decisions. The study finds an inverse U-shaped relationship between landholding size and the probability of migration in the case of external migration. Since external migration is a costly process, small landholders may not have the funds to finance migration and thus be less likely to migrate. Moreover, external migration of villagers who can afford it only serves as a temporary measure of development. Villagers who work abroad eventually return to Pakistan. This ends the flow of remittances, pushing their households back into poverty and underdevelopment. Therefore, external migration without the possibilities of diaspora formation abroad is not a solution. More constructive policies of development, like skill formation that equips the villagers with sustainable income-generating capabilities, are indispensable.

Migration decisions Household characteristics Internal labor migration External labor migration Landholding Development in rural Pakistan

international migration Pakistan rural area Eurasia migrants remittance Asia landholding diaspora household income developing world decision making South Asia internal migration