MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT: REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE OF MIGRATION IN PAKISTAN

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1 International Journal of Environment, Ecology, Family and Urban Studies (IJEEFUS) ISSN Vol.2, Issue 3 Sep TJPRC Pvt. Ltd., MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT: REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE OF MIGRATION IN PAKISTAN MUHAMMAD FAROOQ, KHIZAR HYAT QAMER & JAFFAR HUSSAIN 1 Assistant Professor of Sociology, Government College University, Faisalabad 2 Lecturer in Sociology,, Government College University, Faisalabad 3 Assistant Professor of Sociology, Government College Samanabad,Faisalabad ABSTRACT The present study was designed to measures the financial and social capital development in migrants families in the context of regional perspective of migration at origin and destination. Financial and social capital transfer taking place through return migration which have a positive impact as they help to improve the living standards of the migrants families at origin and promote the social and economic development in the region. Moreover, the remittances and interaction were important motor for regional development and remove the misconception between the migrants and local people. The present study was conducted in two research areas i.e. Faisalabad city and four Tehsils of Faisalabad District. Three hundred interviews were conducted from eight circle areas of the city and three hundred respondents were taken from the eight villages, two villages from each Tehsil selected by simple random sampling technique. Probit model was used to test the four hypotheses that need to be refuted or accepted for meaningful policy to arrest the increasing trend of the internal and international migration. Thus, Probit model analysis proved that the migrants families had significantly improved their household income, education of the children, social status and adopted the modern values in the urban as well as the rural areas of Pakistan. KEY WORDS: Migration, Household Income, Education, Modern Values, Development INTRODUCTION Human Labour force is the most important factor contributing towards National Development in any country around the world. Pakistan is a developing country with 67.5% of its population living in the rural areas and has its main source of income from Agriculture farming. Lack of family planning facilities, education, and strong religious approach are the main factors which have kept our population growth rate remained high. Due to this rapid multiplication of population, the division and fragmentation of land left no charm in cultivation and pushed many farms families into landless class. This change has forced the farming community to adopt other professions. The surplus labour in agriculture and poor economic opportunities at origin has compelled them to migrate towards the big cities within the country and overseas. Various research findings show that remittances can contribute to improve livelihood in receiving communities, and

2 113 Migration and Development: Regional Perspective of Migration in Pakistan increased economic and educational opportunities for migrants themselves (Cohen 2001; Massey et al 1998; Trager 2005). Other studies reflect that migration can lead to improvements in the environmental circumstances that translate to greater growth and improved nutritional status for migrant children (Boas, 1912; Bogin 1999). A study is conducted by Khawaja (2002) which shows that the villagers have strong desired to migrate for better income and job in the cities, owing disparities in wage levels and job opportunities between the city and countryside in Syria. However, the migration reduce the pressure on agricultural land, provide opportunities for the rural unemployed and underemployed, and is correlated with rising living standards and annual income of the household and community levels in urban as well as rural areas of Pakistan. Migration may relieve labour market pressure and generate remittances that constitute an important source of foreign exchange and income for migrants families. Financial, social and human capital transfer taking place through return migration which have left positive impact as they help improve the quality of life at origin and promote socio-economic development in the region. The rural people normally are engaged with hard jobs because they are healthy. Therefore, migrants in the city and oversees are involved mainly in service jobs, marginal workers and public sectors, and hence migration means transplanting surplus labour to the cities and abroad. This is commonly referred to as the healthy migrant effect, which may exist because those in good health can better cope with the difficulties and uncertainties associated with migration (Trager 2005). The causes of migration and its regional development, both on migrant-sending areas and recipient ( urban) communities that receive them, have been the subject of a prolific and growing literature in social, economic and agricultural development, a centerpiece of publicpolicy debates, and a source of sharpening controversy and anxiety in migrant "host" regions and communities. The determinants of out-migration from rural areas and regional development (perspective) in urban migrants families as well as in rural migrants families are the focus of this research paper. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY The present research was conducted in two areas i.e. Faisalabad city and four Tehsils of Faisalabad District (Faisalabad, Jaranwala, Thandlianwala and Samundri). This choice was preceded by exploratory visits to ensure that these areas were the representative of the studied issues. Both urban and rural areas consisted of eight circle areas from the city and eight villages from four tehsils. Researcher used archive (a survey list) which was maintained by Excise and Taxation Department for the Faisalabad city, used as the sampling frame. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to draw the sample (Nachmias and Nachmias, 1992). At the first stage, Faisalabad city was selected (out of the four Industrial districts of Punjab by pick and choose method). Moreover, Faisalabad city had already been divided into three Rating zones and thirtyeight circle areas by the Excise and Taxation Department on the basis of economic stratification. At the second stage, eight circle areas were selected through random sampling to observe regional perspective of migration. At the third stage, households were selected with the help of interviewers who had visited the research areas but the required information was collected wherever the migrants were living. Three hundred

3 Muhammad Farooq, Khizar Hyat Qamer & Jaffar Hussain 114 households were selected through random sampling technique. The respondents included the urban migrants who had migrated before Three hundred respondents were taken from the eight villages, two villages from each Tehsil selected by simple random sampling technique. Moreover, all the respondents were the head of household who were empowered to make the decisions. In order to get a comprehensive range of information, the study had used variety of resources and methods i.e. the Census 1998, District Faisalabad census report and Economic survey To get the information from the respondents, a well-designed questionnaire containing qualitative and quantitative questions was used. The Probit Analysis technique was used to analyze the data and draw the inferences. RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS Using the Probit estimate technique based on the cross sectional data collected during the year , empirical analysis of migration and its Regional Perspective was undertaken. This paper is focused on the migration and its regional perspective on migrants and their families at destination as well as rural areas of Pakistan. Empirical studies about Regional Perspective of migration are rare in Pakistan. This research paper provides the empirical evidences, to establish the causal relationship of migration in order to provide meaningful information for policy imperatives. The variables definitions and descriptive statistics of the variables used in the model are shown in Appendix table 1 and 1a, whereas the results of Probit model used for urban and rural communities is provided in Appendix table 2 and 2A. Following hypotheses were tested in this research paper to justify the regional perspective of migration. The higher the rate the rural to urban migration, the greater will be chanced of development among the migrants families, in the urban areas of Pakistan The higher the rate of international migration, the greater will be chanced of development among the migrants families in the rural areas of Pakistan The likelihood estimates method confirmed that a large majority of the migrants families were improved their monthly household income in the urban as well as in the rural areas after migration. The coefficient of monthly income after migration was significant at 1% level in the urban migrants. With an additional increase in the income by one unit, the probability of development was enhanced by The result showed that better economic opportunities were the major cause of migration from rural areas. In case of individual migration whose families left behind in the rural areas had improved their monthly household income through the remittances and the coefficient of the household monthly income after migration was significant at 5% level in the rural areas. With additional increase in the income by one unit, the probability of development was enhanced by Probit model result showed that rural to urban migration and international migration was positively associated with objective of poverty reduction and development in the urban as well as rural communities.

4 115 Migration and Development: Regional Perspective of Migration in Pakistan Migration and its regional perspective has been an indubitable factor to help reducing poverty in the rural and urban areas of Pakistan. It was calculated that these migrants in cities had a high turnover of employment, and suffer from the disadvantages of being excluded from the public housing and access to health services and schooling for children at low cost that urban residents are entitled to. Amjad (1989), though noting that international Asian migrants are not from the poorest strata, and that overseas employment may have an inflationary impact, still believes that migration has had an overall favourable impact on poverty alleviation in Pakistan. Thus, migration in many cases does alleviate poverty, but it can also increase inequality because remittance allows the migrants and their families to improve their assets and human capital. Studies of migrants since the 1940s in Malawi Zambia area, in South Africa and research undertaken by the International Labour Organization (Bohning, 1984), there is overwhelming evidence of the positive contribution of migration, including its alleviation of rural poverty. These findings are coinciding with those of Gardner (1995) and others who documented a positive relationship between out-migration and rural incomes in earlier periods. Just as rural out-migration appears to have resolved the poverty associated with too many farmers between 1940 and 1970, emigration had been improving the migrants life and their families socio-economic status. The higher the rate of improvement of the social capital at destination and origin, the greater will be the impact of migration on the family The likelihood estimates confirmed that the migrants families in both urban and rural communities had concentrated on the schooling of their children in order to improve the social capital. Probit model showed that the coefficient was significant at 5% and 1% level in the urban as well as rural migrants, respectively. As the schooling of the children increased by one unit in the urban community, the probability to improve the social capita is In case of rural community, as the schooling of the children increased by one unit, the probability to improve the social capital is These figures coincide with the findings of Kuhn (2006) who found that the emigration of fathers and male siblings often resulted in improvements in the education of children left behind in some rural areas in Bangladesh It was concluded that migrants families had paid maximum attention on the schooling of their children with regard to elevate the social position of their families in the society. The higher the rate of adaptation of the modern values at destination and origin, the greater will be the impact of migration on the family The likelihood estimates provides information about the impacts of migration on the traditional values, which had emerged as the modern values in the family system in the shape of the women participation in the family s decision and women empowerment in the rural and urban communities in the migrant s families. The women s empowerment coefficient was significant at 5% and 10% level in the urban as well as rural communities, respectively. The effect of modern value increases one unit, the probability of

5 Muhammad Farooq, Khizar Hyat Qamer & Jaffar Hussain 116 women empowerment in the urban community in the migrant s families was enhanced by In case of rural community, the effect of modern value increases one unit, the probability of women empowerment in the urban community in the migrant s families was enhanced by The result reflects that family institution is more democratic in the urban migrants as compared to migrants families left behind in the rural areas because traditional values prevail in the rural communities. It was conclude that migration was promoted social mobility, economic independence and relative autonomy if their husband in the urban areas accompanied women s moves. This gives them more control over their family s matter or, at least, greater participation in family decision. However, it was empirically proved that the rate of adaptation of the modern values in the urban community were higher as compared to the rural community due to internal migration of any member of the family. The result of the rural community coincided with Lefebver (1985), the majority of the women reported that they did not experience any changes in their position in the household since their husband s departure. It is true that the head of the household gives his directions through letters about affairs, like the education of their children, the decisions to take in the agriculture, the strategy to follow. ESTIMATE OF PROBIT MODEL This migration s impact is specified as the dependent variable having value as one and zero otherwise. The estimating Probit model equation is specified as below: IMD = b o + b 1 LHOLD + b 2 MINAM + b 3 EDU + b 4 AGE + b 5 FAMSIZ + b 6 SOT + b 7 SOCAPT + b 8 SANT + b 9 WOEMP IMO = b o + b 1 LHOLD + b 2 MINH + b 3 SOCAPT + b 4 HOUS + b 5 IMPLS + b 6 AGRIA + b 7 WOEMP IMD represents the impact of migration at destination, while IMO is the symbol of origin, the impact of migration at origin Variables descriptive statistics used in Probit analysis in the urban as well as in the rural community (see appendix). CONCLUSIONS Probit model result reflects that in fact people prefer migration to the cities in order to improve their socioeconomic status i.e. the pull factor, which was a strong determinant of the rural-out migration. The coefficient of monthly income after migration was significant in the urban as well as rural communities. Moreover, Probit model result shows that rural out-migration is positively associated with objective of poverty reduction in the urban as well as rural communities. In case of social capital, Probit model result shows that the coefficient was significant in the urban migrants and rural migrants. Furthermore, families in

6 117 Migration and Development: Regional Perspective of Migration in Pakistan the urban as well as rural communities were concentrated on the schooling of their children in order to improve the social capital, which elevate the social position of their families in the society. The women s empowerment coefficient was significant in the urban migrants families but in rural community this significant level was lightly. The result reflects that family institution was more democratic in the urban migrants as compared to migrants families left behind in the rural areas because traditional values prevailed in the rural communities. Migration is usually associated with general economic and social development. In much of the developing world, large scale population growth and mass migration to the cities combined with static or slow economic growth rates mean that per capita income has increased relatively slowly. A set of policies is needed to address the migrants problems and check the migration to urban center. Therefore, migration should be given the central importance, and policies should aim at enhancing its contribution to people s livelihoods. Policies should support the settlement of immigrants, enabling the development of their resources. Such policies can be included by providing information and communication channels, facilitating the integration of migrant populations in areas of destination, minimising tensions and environmental damages, and enhancing welfare of both the migrants and the host population. Therefore, migrants settled areas (destination), potentially promising measures include ways of facilitating remittances, and channels to invest in order to productive and sustainable production should be launched by the government and the NGOs. Beside this, the living conditions of the villagers are improving in terms of civic amenities, housing conditions and infrastructure. But there are also evident negative consequences of urbanization for the conditions in which residents live and work. However, in some of the peripheries, the dense mix of industrial land use with residential areas poses a threat to the health. The labour-class migrants living in slums, at or near the industrial sites, or in crowded conditions in the peripheral areas, are more vulnerable than the original village population. Government and NGOs should provide the basic facilities in these areas in order to reduce the difficulties of its dwellers. REFERENCES 1. Amjad, R., Economic Impact of Migration to the Middle East on the Major Asian Labor Sending Countries - An Overview in: R. Amjad, ed., To the Gulf and Back. Studies on the Economic Impact of Asian Labor Migration, Geneva: UNDP/ILO, pp Boas, F., Changes in the bodily form of descendants of immigrants.new York: a. Columbia University Press. 3. Bogin, B., 1999, Patterns of Human Growth, Second Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 4. Bohning, W.R., Studies in International Labor Migration, London: Macmillan, p.18.

7 Muhammad Farooq, Khizar Hyat Qamer & Jaffar Hussain Cohen, J.H, Transnational Migration in Rural Oaxaca, Mexico: Dependency, Development and the Household. American Anthropologist 103(4): Gardner, K., Global Migrants, Local Lives: Travel and Transformation in Rural a. Bangladesh. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 7. Government of Pakistan, Economic Survey of Pakistan, Economic Advisor Wing, Finance Division, Islamabad, p.181, IOM, World Migration Report. Co published by the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations, p Khawaja, M., Internal Migration in Syria: Findings from National Survey, Printed in Norway by: Centeralytrkkeriets AS, Fafo report 375, p Kuhn, R., The effects of fathers and siblings migration on children s pace of schooling in rural Bangladesh, Asian Population Studies, vol. 2, No. 1, pp Lefebvre, A., Comparative Study of Emigration from Two Pakistani Villages with Different Forms of Agriculture, Copenhagen, p Massey, DS, J. Arango, G. Hugo, A, Kouaouci, A Pellegrino, E Taylor, 1998, Worlds in 13. Motion, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 14. Nachimias, D. and C. Nachimias, Research Methods in Social Sciences, 4th ed., New York: St. Martin Press. Pp Trager, L, (Ed), Migration and Economy. Walnut Creek, CA. Altamira Press.

8 119 Migration and Development: Regional Perspective of Migration in Pakistan APPENDIX-1 Table-1: Variables Definition and Descriptive Statistics used in Probit Analysis in the Urban Community Variable Description Mean Std. Deviation IM 1 if migration s impact is development; zero otherwise LHOLD Number of acres <7 equal to unity (ECOPT) otherwise zero MINAM Income > Rs equal to unity otherwise zero EDU Migrants schooling years >8 equal to unity otherwise zero AGE Age of the respondent in years FAMSIZ SOT SOCAPT SANT WOEMP Total number of persons living together under one roof Number of visits at origin > 11 equal to unity otherwise zero 1 if schooling of the children improved; zero otherwise 1 if the better sanitation; zero otherwise Dichotomous variable equal to unity if women empowerment and decision making; zero otherwise Table-1A: Variable Definitions and Descriptive Statistics used in Probit Analysis at origin in the Rural Community Variable Description Mean Std. Deviation IM 1 if migration s impact is development; zero otherwise LHOLD (ECOPT) Number of acres <7 equal to unity otherwise zero MINH Income > Rs equal to unity otherwise zero SOCAPT 1 if schooling of the children improved; zero otherwise HOUS 1 if housing condition improved; zero otherwise IMPLS 1 if the life style improved; zero otherwise AGRIA Dichotomous variable equal to unity if agricultural activities better; zero otherwise WOEMP Dichotomous variable equal to unity if women empowerment and decision making; zero otherwise

9 Muhammad Farooq, Khizar Hyat Qamer & Jaffar Hussain 120 APPENDIX 2: Probit Model Table-2: Maximum Likelihood Estimates by Probit model in the Urban Community Variables Coefficient Standard Error Probability LHOLD ** (ECOPT) MINAM.62234*** EDU.00006** AGE.03012*** FAMSIZ.08569** SOT.01054* SOCAPT.32995** SANT.33053* WOEMP.37238** Table-2A: Maximum Likelihood Estimates by Probit model in the Rural Community Variables Coefficient Standard Error Probability LHOLD.27844* (ECOPT) MINH.00001* SOCAPT.51080*** HOUS.27558* IMPLS.84380*** AGRI WOEMP.29209* * Indicate that the coefficient is significantly different from zero at 0.1-probability level **Indicate that the coefficient is significantly different from zero at 0.05-probability level ***Indicate that the coefficient is significantly different from zero at 0.01-proba