Mobile Phone Network and Migration: Evidence From Myanmar

Abstract

This International Migration Review research note explores the effect of the expansion of mobile phone networks on migration decisions in Myanmar. Building on the work of scholars in economics, the empirical strategy uses variation in lightning frequency across space as an instrumental variable for the expansion of mobile phone networks. Our results suggest that villages with longer exposure to mobile phone networks exhibit reductions in out-migration. Specifically, an increase of one standard deviation in the time exposed to mobile phone networks diminishes the probability that household members migrate by 17 percent. We find empirical evidence suggesting that such findings are driven by the positive effects of mobile phone networks on labor market outcomes and the perceived well-being of individuals.