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The impact of natural disasters on migration: findings from Vietnam

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2021

Trong-Anh Trinh Open the ORCID record for Trong-Anh Trinh [Opens in a new window] ,
Simon Feeny  and
Alberto Posso
Trong-Anh Trinh*
Affiliation:
School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
Simon Feeny
Affiliation:
School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
Alberto Posso
Affiliation:
School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Increasingly, studies are examining whether the incidence of natural disasters influences household migration. This paper examines whether the severity of natural disasters is important for migration decisions in Vietnam, rather than just examining their occurrence. Data for a sample of 1,003 farm households from the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey are examined for the period 2006–2008. A residual generated regressor approach is adopted to isolate the direct impact of disasters on migration from the indirect impact they have on migration through reducing agricultural output and income. Findings suggest that more severe disasters are directly associated with a greater probability of migration. Furthermore, such outcomes are the same for poor households vis-à-vis their non-poor counterparts.

Keywords

Agriculturemigrationnatural disastersresidual generated regressorVietnam

JEL classification

Q54: Climate • Natural Disasters and Their Management • Global Warming O15: Human Resources • Human Development • Income Distribution • Migration P25: Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics J61: Geographic Labor Mobility • Immigrant Workers
Type
Research Paper
Information
Journal of Demographic Economics , Volume 87 , Special Issue 3: Climate Migration , September 2021 , pp. 479 - 510
Copyright
Copyright © Université catholique de Louvain 2021

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