Abstract:
This study examined the impacts of rural-out migration on multidimensional poverty in
migrants sending households in the South Ari Woreda, SNNP region, Ethiopia. The
objectives of the study were to analyze the prevalence of rural household participation in
out-migration, to identify the determinants of rural outmigration, to analyze the extent of
multidimensional poverty, and to estimate the impacts of rural-out migration on
multidimensional poverty of rural household in the study area. Cross-sectional data were
collected from a total of randomly selected 371 sample households. The data were
analyzed using multidimensional poverty index, probit regression, and endogamous
switching regression. The results derived from multidimensional poverty index revealed
that the adjusted head count ratio in non-migrant, migrant sending, and overall household
was 30.5%, 48.6% and 43.9%, respectively. The incidence of multidimensional poverty in
non-migrant, migrant sending and overall households was 66.2% and 86.5%, and 81.2%,
respectively. The average deprivation share of rural households in non-migrant and
migrant sending households in the weighted indicator was 40.7% and 56.3%. On the other
hand, the contribution of non-migrant and migrant sending households to the adjusted
head count ratio was 18.1% and 81.9%, respectively. The probit model results showed
that age of household head, gender of household head, family size of household, food
poverty status of household, number of unemployed members of household and remittance
have positive significant effect while land holding size, farm-output, credit access, marital
status have negative significant effect on the rural out-migration at 5% level of
significance. The endogenous switching regression results showed that the average effect
of rural outmigration on multidimensional poverty induction was 33.5 % and 20.5% in
migrant sending and the overall households, respectively. Therefore, migrant sending
households would be poorer than non-migrant households in the study area. Thus, this
study recommends for development planer and all stakeholders participate in awareness
creation on top of migration and look for poverty reduction schemes such as access to
credit and land for the rural poor, and restricted on rural outmigration in the study area.
