MPACT OF RURAL-OUT MIGRATION ON MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INMIGRANT SENDING HOUSEHOLDS: THE CASE OF SOUTH ARI WOREDA, SOUTH OMO ZONE, SNNP REGION, ETHIOPIA

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.