Women's Rights and the Patterns of Migration

Abstract

This article investigates women’s economic, political, and social rights in both home and destination countries as potential push and pull factors of female migration. Using a bilateral framework including 104 origin countries and 28 destination countries for the years 1990 and 2000, we document that for female migrants with various levels of education, when women’s economic and social rights at home improve, they are less likely to leave, but women’s political rights are a push factor. Women’s economic rights in destination countries attract female migrants of all education levels but more so those with a tertiary education. Also, women’s political rights in destination countries are a pull factor, but women’s social rights are not.