Migrant Social Capital and Education in Migrant-Sending Areas of Bangladesh: Complements or Substitutes?

Randall Kuhn, University of Colorado
Jane Menken, University of Colorado at Boulder
Nizam Khan, University of Colorado

This paper studies the role of migrant social capital on children's education in Matlab, in an area of rural Bangladesh with high rates of out-migration and dependence on urban-rural financial transfers. A primary point is the role of migrant social connections as complements or substitutes for investments in children's education. Past research shows investments in children act as a substitute for retirement insurance in developing societies. In areas of high out-migration, high social costs and risks associated with migration may reduce the marginal returns to educational investment. The analysis combines household survey data with a series of surveillance data, predicting education among children in terms of past migration experience at the village- and compound-levels. We test the impact of past migration experience on overall levels of educational attainment and on within-household educational inequalities. Further, we model gender differentials in educational in light of the changing relationship between gender and migration.