Migration In Bangladesh Research Articles

Migration and erosion in tidal and river channels in Bangladesh

Environmental stressors and natural disasters are changing the physical landscapes in many countries worldwide. In this paper, we ask whether and how erosion affects internal and international migration in Bangladesh. Building on prior studies, we use data from 3,600 households in 18 research sites to investigate how erosion in tidal and river channels is related to the risk of making a first internal or international trip, net of extreme weather conditions and other relevant attributes. Findings reveal that the relationship between erosion and the likelihood of making a first domestic or international trip is moderated by livelihood type and landownership. As erosion worsens, the odds ofmaking a first domestic trip rise for non-agricultural non-landowning household heads and decline for landowners working in agriculture. Estimated lifetime probabilities of making a first domestic trip are higher than those of making a first international trip, with non-agricultural non-landowners having the highest probabilities and agricultural landowners having the lowest. Together, the evidence suggests that shifts in physical landscapes, especially erosion, are tightly linked to out-migration through ties to land.

Exploring Internal Reverse Migration Patterns in Cumilla District, Bangladesh: A Case Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The study possesses two-fold objectives: first, to explain the nature of internal reverse migration in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic, and second, to explore the push-pull factors of it. This study used a qualitative analysis tool and conducted 04 case studies and 10 In-depth interviews of reverse migrants for case study-based analysis. the study found that the pandemic triggered the reverse migration of informal workers, particularly female workers. Livelihood crisis, food insecurity, unexpected shocks, health insecurity, low living costs, and fear of infection are push-pull factors of reverse migration during COVID-19. Furthermore, these push-pull factors have motivated informal workers to migrate from urban to rural areas during COVID-19. The findings recommend that policymakers should address the vulnerability of informal workers in policy decisions. Policymakers should introduce new programs, i.e., social protection, and emergency economic schemes to provide support to the informal workers during emergencies like COVID-19.

Climate change as a veiled driver of migration in Bangladesh and Ghana

People living in deltaic areas in developing countries are especially prone to suffer the effects from natural disasters due to their geographical and economic structure. Climate change is contributing to an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme events affecting the environmental conditions of deltas, threatening the socioeconomic development of people and, eventually, triggering migration as an adaptation strategy. Climate change will likely contribute to worsening environmental stress in deltas, and understanding the relations between climate change, environmental impacts, socioeconomic conditions, and migration is emerging as a key element for planning climate adaptation. In this study, we use data from migration surveys and econometric techniques to analyse the extent to which environmental impacts affect individual migration decision-making in two delta regions in Bangladesh and Ghana. The results show that, in both deltas, climatic shocks that negatively affect economic security are significant drivers of migration, although the surveyed households do not identify environmental pressures as the root cause of the displacement. Furthermore, environmental impacts affecting food security and crop and livestock production are also significant as events inducing people to migrate, but only in Ghana. We also find that suffering from environmental stress can intensify or reduce the effects of socioeconomic drivers. In this sense, adverse climatic shocks may not only have a direct impact on migration but may also condition migration decisions indirectly through the occupation, the education, or the marital status of the person. We conclude that although climate change and related environmental pressures are not perceived as key drivers of migration, they affect migration decisions through indirect channels (e.g., reducing economic security or reinforcing the effect of socioeconomic drivers).

Rohingya Crisis In Bangladesh: Causes, Consequences And Remedies

Bangladesh, a nation marked by its dense population, continues to wrestle with multifaceted challenges even 52 years after gaining independence while navigating the sophistications of development. Among these challenges, the pressing issue of the Rohingya people's plight takes center stage, with various forms of oppression, including mass killings, executions, forced labor, deportation, and the denial of fundamental human rights, rendering them stateless. This study seeks to dissect the roots of the Rohingya crisis and explore its repercussions on Bangladesh. Employing an exploratory research approach, data from secondary sources were qualitatively analyzed using content analysis to discern underlying themes and patterns. The findings reveal that the Rohingya crisis is primarily driven by the lack of documentation, the rise of authoritarianism, and a complex religious landscape. Additionally, the paper identifies social, economic, and environmental challenges as direct consequences of refugee migration in Bangladesh. These insights hold significant implications for policymakers and practitioners actively involved in addressing the Rohingya crisis. Offering a comprehensive analysis, the study also proposes practical policy recommendations grounded in the specific context of the crisis, aiming for tangible applications in real-world scenarios.

Climate change-induced hazard risks and migration in Bangladesh: A case study

This study explored the effect of climate related hazard-induced risks on migration using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data were collected by conducting a field survey in Cumilla City Corporation, eastern Bangladesh, with 100 respondents using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed using an integrated thematic analysis method directed by numerical and non-numerical coding. The findings revealed that climate-related incidents in Bangladesh forced people to move from vulnerable to less vulnerable areas. People who have been hurt by disasters often decided early on to move away in search of a better life. Although many disaster-affected people had the minimum opportunity to stay in the same places, they migrated to avoid future risks and search for a secure life. Migrants faced many socio-economic and environmental challenges in their new settlements. The raising awareness and policy strategies regarding environmental pollution and climate adaptation are urgently needed to reduce the hazard risks and vulnerability of the communities.

Dynamics of Emigration: Bangladesh Case

Overseas migration has attracted a lot of attention from policymakers and academics in Bangladesh. The writings and debates on migration in Bangladesh have centred around the economic benefits of migration as well as its social implications. This paper is a contribution to this literature. The detailed analysis of emigration patterns using the data provided by the BMET, but not aggregated and complied before, adds to the ongoing debates on overseas migration in Bangladesh. Disaggregate analysis is provided in this paper, from the 2004 till date, on the overseas migration of men and women over the years, along with their occupation, age, and skill profile. In addition, this paper brings a regional dimension into the discussion of the migration literature in Bangladesh. The sharp variation in the intensity of overseas migrations across the different districts of Bangladesh gives us new insights for policy that links overseas migration as a panacea for some of the development challenges that the country faces. The reach of overseas migration to give gains to households that are in highly underdeveloped regions remains limited and, in some ways, continues to keep them trapped in a vicious circle of underdevelopment.
 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (Hum.), Vol. 68(1), 2023, pp. 69-97

Tracing the Impact of Migration in Bangladesh: From Partition to the Pandemic

Tracing the Impact of Migration in Bangladesh: From Partition to the Pandemic

Mainstreaming Internal Migration in Law and Policy Frameworks in Bangladesh: Analysis of a Rights-Based Approach to a Wicked Policy Problem

Internal migration presents many challenges for governmental coordination due to the extensive and immediate action required to address this problem. However, it also poses opportunities regarding education, employment and living conditions, if the government creates pull factors to distribute migration away from primary to secondary cities. This process will require a rights-based approach, whereby the rights of internal migrants are mainstreamed in government planning to enable sustainable migration to Bangladesh’s secondary cities. In this paper, the current international human rights and internal migration laws will be analysed, alongside the domestic laws and policies relevant to internal migration in Bangladesh. In doing so, this paper will explore how government policy and action can employ a rights-based approach to incorporate internal migration within the government’s overarching development framework. A rights-based approach is necessary to effectively prepare for, and adapt to, the increase in internal migration in an equitable way.

Exploring the Factors of Farmers’ Rural–Urban Migration Decisions in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, rural–urban migration is widespread. Many earlier studies discussed the factors, patterns, causes, and consequences and the socio-economic and environmental impact of migration from the general perspective. However, rural–urban migration with a particular focus on particular communities or migrants’ employment profiles, for instance, farmers, is poorly described. In contrast, many farmers move from rural to urban areas every year in Bangladesh. However, the factors that affect farmers’ rural-to-urban migration are a primary concern to academia and key actors, as the country’s economy mainly depends on agriculture and farming. This paper, therefore, aimed to identify the underlying factors of the rural–urban (R–U) migration of farmers in Bangladesh. Data for this study came from phone interviews conducted with 254 migrant farmers living in city districts in Bangladesh. We adopted a three-step approach to select and identify factors that impacted farmers’ decision to move from rural to urban settings. First, we reviewed the extant literature and compiled more than 70 variables of interest relevant to farmers’ migration. Second, 30 variables were selected for data collection after consultations with key informants (KIIs) and informal discussions (IDs) with farmers and local community leaders. Besides, the Q-methodology was used to assess the level of importance of the selected variables. Lastly, principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to extract salient dimensions of farmers’ rural-to-urban migration, where 21 variables were detected that consistently exceeded a threshold value of 0.50 of communality for further analysis. Our findings show that six dimensions—i.e., individual, household, economic, attitudinal, spatial, and climate-induced extremes—significantly influence and contribute to rural urban migration decisions for farmers. Further, our results indicated that age, agricultural knowledge, household debt, seasonal famine/poverty (Monga), unemployment in rural areas, availability of anticipated job opportunities in urban areas, shortage of agricultural inputs, and river erosion significantly influenced farmers’ decision to leave their farms in Bangladesh. Findings from this study may be used as inputs in predictive models and benchmark guidelines for assessing trends and patterns of rural-to-urban migration and for the formulation of policy and programs targeting domestic migration in Bangladesh for proper urban planning and further rural development.

Applying machine learning to social datasets: a study of migration in southwestern Bangladesh using random forests

As researchers collect large amounts of data in the social sciences through household surveys, challenges may arise in how best to analyze such datasets, especially where motivating theories are unclear or conflicting. New analytical methods may be necessary to extract information from these datasets. Machine learning techniques are promising methods for identifying patterns in large datasets, but have not yet been widely used to identify important variables in social surveys with many questions. To demonstrate the potential of machine learning to analyze large social datasets, we apply machine learning techniques to the study of migration in Bangladesh. The complexity of migration decisions makes them suitable for analysis with machine learning techniques, which enable pattern identification in large datasets with many covariates. In this paper, we apply random forest methods to analyzing a large survey which captures approximately 2000 variables from approximately 1700 households in southwestern Bangladesh. Our analysis ranked the covariates in the dataset in terms of their predictive power for migration decisions. The results identified the most important covariates, but there exists a tradeoff between predictive ability and interpretability. To address this tradeoff, random forests and other machine learning algorithms may be especially useful in combination with more traditional regression methods. To develop insights into how the important variables identified by the random forest algorithm impact migration, we performed a survival analysis of household time to first migration. With this combined analysis, we found that variables related to wealth and household composition are important predictors of migration. Such multi-methods approaches may help to shed light on factors contributing to migration and non-migration.

Dynamics of internal migration in Bangladesh: Trends, patterns, determinants, and causes.

IntroductionInternal migration is essential to understand the population dynamics and the multifaceted relationship between population and development of a nation. In Bangladesh, the study of international migration is more frequent due to its socioeconomic importance and data availability. However, the study of internal migration is less frequent as there lie complexities in measuring internal migration, and data are less available. Thus, this paper aimed to explore the dynamics of internal in Bangladesh.Data and methodsWe utilized data from the Bangladesh Population and Housing Census 1991–2011. The number of internal migrants was estimated using the United Nations Manual on Methods of Measuring Internal Migration- Manual VI. District-wise lifetime and net internal migration rate were the dependent variables where several socioeconomic variables were used as independent variables. The correlation and the stepwise multiple linear regression analysis were employed.ResultsDhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, and all the Divisional cities have the highest in-migration rate, whereas the northern and southern districts of Bangladesh have the highest out-migration rate. The regression model showed that activity rate appeared to be the strongest predictor (β = 0.419, P<0.001) of net migration for 2011, followed by city corporation (β = 0.275, P<0.01) and poverty rate (β = -0.246, P<0.01). However, the lifetime internal migration rate was 9.8% in 2011. The pooled model (1991–2011) for lifetime internal migration showed that activity rate (β = 0.408, P<0.001), population density (β = 0.386, P<0.001), literacy rate (β = 0.341, P<0.001), and city corporation (β = 0.139, P<0.01) were the significant factors of internal migration. Marriage, looking for a job, employment/business, education, and natural calamities were the reasons for internal migration.Discussion and conclusionThe destinations of migrants are few developed and urbanized cities which needs particular attention in policy planning. If the current migration trends continue, few cities will have an excessive population, which will increase density and pollution, thereby decreasing living standards. Thus, along with comprehensive urban planning, decentralization of government and private institutions must be ensured. Since the rural to urban migration rate is high, the findings recommend more development and concentration in the rural area. Finally, education, training, and work opportunities for migrants should be safeguarded in the area of origin.

Climate Bridge Fund: Tackling Climate Migration in Bangladesh by Bridging Stakeholder Gaps

Climate change is already happening. In the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that about 72 million people will be displaced with 0.5-metre sea level rise if there is no investment in adaptation. In the case of a 2.0-metre rise, that number of people will be pushed to 187 million. IPCC also provides evidence on increased displacement and migration due to floods and droughts in many countries including Bangladesh. It has been reported “22% of households affected by tidal-surge floods and 16% of households that were affected by riverbank erosion moved to urban areas in Bangladesh”

Modeling Human Migration Under Environmental Change: A Case Study of the Effect of Sea Level Rise in Bangladesh

AbstractSea level rise (SLR) could have catastrophic consequences worldwide. More than 600 million people currently living in coastal areas may see their livelihood at risk and choose to migrate in the near future. Predicting when, how, and where people could migrate under environmental change is critical to devise effective policy initiatives and improve our preparedness. Here, we propose a modeling framework to predict the effect of SLR on migration patterns from easily accessible geographic and demographic data. The framework adapts the radiation model to capture unwillingness or inability to migrate of affected residents, as well as return migration and cascading effects in migration patterns. We apply the mathematical model to study internal migration in Bangladesh, where we predict a complex and counterintuitive landscape of migration patterns between districts. Our predictions indicate that the impact of SLR on 816,000 people by 2050 will trigger cascading effects in migration patterns throughout the entire country. The population of each of the 64 districts will change, leading to a total variation of 1.3 million people. Migration from inundated regions in the center will trigger non‐trivial patterns, including a reduction in the population of the district of the capital Dhaka.

Determinates of Migration from and Within Bangladesh: A Household Level Analysis

The number of international migrants is continuously and rapidly growing worldwide. It increased to 244 million in 2015, up from 222 million in 2010 and 173 million in 2000. In Bangladesh, there is lack of sufficient resources and facilities to provide all its people with satisfactory working, earning, studying, health care, business and other opportunities, so, people migrate either simply from rural to urban, rural to rural and urban to urban destinations within the country or from the country to abroad either for short periods or for long duration. Lack of effective out migration policies, weak governance, and a hostile investment climate are all significant challenges to the sector's growth and attainment of the SDGs. The aim of this paper is to explore some ‘household level determinants’ for migration in Bangladesh when migration is internal and also external. Among the found determinants, researchers would like to know which determinants are more important and thus find the important reasons behind migration of the Bangladeshi people, thus enabling the proposing of policy recommendations. In the study the cross-section data of Bangladesh Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2010 was used. In the survey data, 612 Primary Sampling Unit (PSU) were selected systematically from 16 Strata and a total of 12,240 households was present. Probit model was used to analyze the determinants of the household migration decision. The study found that age of household head, farm area, value of other assets, number of young dependents on family head, economically favored districts are significant determinants of migration. Regression results shows that increase in ‘farm area’ and ‘value of other assets’ increases the probability of both internal and external migration. Households having loans are more likely to take a decision for internal migration. The study found that external migration is more popular among Bangladeshi households than internal district to district migration. In case of both internal and external migration, probability of migration is greater from rural area than from urban area. Oil rich Middle East countries and OECD countries are the main destinations for external migrants and earnings not very attractive as most migrants work there as unskilled, semi-skilled or low-skilled workers. Government agencies should take steps to provide poor or insolvent households with appropriate information and guidance. Loan facilities for these people could be arranged so that for going to a job outside the country they need not sell their last assets.

Random forest analysis of two household surveys can identify important predictors of migration in Bangladesh

The decision to migrate is complex and is often influenced by a combination of economic, social, political, and environmental pressures. Household survey instruments can capture detailed information about migration histories and their contexts, but it can be challenging to identify important predictors from large numbers of covariates with standard statistical methods, such as regression analyses. Machine learning techniques are well suited to pattern identification and can identify important covariates from large datasets. We report on the application of machine learning approaches to two large surveys collected from a total of more than 2800 households in southwestern Bangladesh. We applied random forest classification and regression models to identify significant covariates with the greatest predictive power for household migration decisions. The results show that random forest models are able to identify nuances in predictors of different types of migration and migration in different communities. Random forests also outperform logistic regression and support vector machines in predicting migration in all cases analyzed. Therefore, random forest models and other machine learning methods can be useful for improving the predictive accuracy of migration models and identifying patterns in complex social datasets. Future work should continue to explore the potential of machine learning techniques applied to questions of environmental migration.

Demoralization-led migration in Bangladesh: A sense of insecurity-based decision-making model

Political hostility, unrest and flawed governance cause insecurity leading to demoralization, which triggers migration. There is a large body of literature on the determinants of international migration that highlights a range of factors to explain the direction and strength of migrant flows. For this research we interviewed 32 respondents who were a control group in a study conducted a decade ago. These respondents were determined not to migrate, but their migration decision was reversed over a period of 10 years. This article explores the relation between a sense of insecurity and the demoralization that influences migration decisions. It further investigates the causes that contributed to this change. As democracy shrinks, authoritarianism expands, implying that there is no accountability. This leads a country to widespread corruption, creating severe social injustices. People in general become demoralized and decide to migrate out. This article adds to the body of work by focusing on whether the migration decision is a response to widespread corruption, prevailing political conditions, violence, conflict, poor governance, an absence of rule of law and freedom or declining of democratic space in Bangladesh.

Learning to Swim in Turbulent Waters: Women’s Migration at the Agency-Exploitation Nexus

ABSTRACT The last two decades have witnessed shifts in official representations of women’s international migration in Bangladesh. An historic preoccupation with risk/danger, in which (poor) women’s international mobility was presented as synonymous with “sex trafficking” has latterly been superseded by more “positive” images. More recently, the government has taken steps to actively promote women’s migration for “low-skilled” labour to, primarily, the Middle East. This shift is mirrored in a reconfiguration of awareness-raising and training initiatives targeting aspiring women migrant workers. The “counter-trafficking” programmes that once dominated, with their focus on risks/dangers, have begun to be supplanted by curricula representing women’s international migration as “a legitimate and respectable option.” This, new, pro-female-migration, stance presents a widening of women’s opportunities – and an overt challenge to the stigmas tainting female transnational mobility in “good society,” yet its progressive goals are partial and unstable. While restrictions on women’s mobility are demonstrably harmful, it does not follow that the active promotion of international migration – as a disciplined and devalued labour force – is progressive. This article explores these tensions based on 18 months of qualitative and ethnographic fieldwork following women participating in one such “new generation” anti-trafficking initiative.

The evolution of the policy environment for climate change migration in Bangladesh: Competing narratives, coalitions and power

AbstractIn spite of an enormous increase in attention to climate migration in Bangladesh, institutional weaknesses have meant that unplanned migration has triggered social issues. This situation requires investigation of the main challenges and opportunities in institutional capacity and policy development for climate change induced migration. Drawing on different narratives, networks and power status of stakeholders, this study identifies two competing coalitions: ‘in‐situ’ coalition, which shares the belief that migration is a failure of adaptation, and ‘ex‐situ’ coalition adhering to the emerging slogan of “migration as adaptive strategy.” The differentiated powers of two coalitions to some extent leave the agenda of climate migration in the policy domain as a subject of informal institutional capacity rather than a formal regulatory framework. Consequently, the evolution of the policy environment for climate migration depends on how effectively a greater policy space is determined by narratives, coalitions and power. Through a political economy lens, this article seeks to clarify the potential approaches to extending the policy space regarding climate migration in Bangladesh, first by improving ideological pluralism in international climate change finance, and, second, enhancing the bottom‐up process for resource mobilization. In short, the evolution of the policy environment for climate change largely depends on the political power of the ‘ex‐situ’ coalition.

Causes of Urban Migration in Bangladesh: Evidence from the Urban Health Survey

Mass migration is increasing urban populations globally. One country where urban migration is significantly increasing is Bangladesh, where systematic research will explore the reasons for urban migration in order to devise policies in this area, including maintaining the balance of urban–rural developments. This study used the Urban Health Survey (UHS) 2013 to ascertain the reasons for urban migration in large divisional cities in Bangladesh. The 2013 survey examined the differences between male and female migration, alongside any significant sociodemographic factors that might contribute to their motivation for moving to the city. The survey revealed that a majority of women (64.8%) migrated for family purposes, for example, joining husbands or in-laws, or parents/children. However, in recent years, female migrants have been involved in income-generating activities mostly due to a recent garment-making boom in Dhaka and its suburbs. A higher proportion of men (85.3%) moved to urban areas for work-related reasons: searching for new jobs, better income, or transfer in services. Among the sample in this study, 77% of the respondents (79.3% female and 73.5% male) migrated from villages. This migration mostly centered on Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, where 68.1% of the total study sample migrated followed by 15.7% who went to Chittagong. The results indicate that the contemporary urban-centered economic policy in Bangladesh might require revision to accommodate the increased migrants from rural areas.

Social networking in a digital and mobile world: the case of environmentally-related migration in Bangladesh

ABSTRACTThis paper interrogates how the social networks and the networking of migrants, and through that their migration trajectories, are being shaped by mobile technologies. I examine this through the case of environmentally-related migration in Bangladesh. This case, and the issue of environmentally-related migration more generally, provides new insights as it has a different context to most of the cases thus far examined to study the implications of ICTs on migration. In contrast to those studies, it is about internal movement. Such movement is highly dynamic with people frequently visiting places of origin or even trying to move back, and with travel routes being relatively safe and well known. It is less about smart phones and social media, as many of the most affected only have access to a mobile phone without internet. In that context, this paper shows that the use of mobile technologies does not necessarily lead to a drastic shift of social network structure towards the proliferation of weak ties. Rather, in this case, the impact is on how (often existing) ties that are geographically dispersed are utilised to enable mobility in a more coordinated manner, making mobility decisions more reflected on and to an extent less risky.