How climate-included variations in crop yields affect migration in India
International Journal of Social Economics
ISSN: 0306-8293
Article publication date: 29 May 2023
Issue publication date: 17 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The study unravels the effects of climate-induced variations in staple crop yields on various migratory inflows in India while adjusting for seasonal weather and sociodemographic factors.
Design/methodology/approach
The instrumental variable approach is used to assess the potential effects of climate and nonclimate parameters on various migration types, exploiting panel data at the district level from the 2001 and 2011 Census years, with agriculture acting as the mediator.
Findings
As weather-driven variations in rice and wheat yield increase by 10%, the share of migration within and between districts to population decreases by 0.017 and 0.002, respectively. However, rice and wheat yields increase by 494.60 and 524.40%, respectively, with a marginal increase in the share of migration within states to population. Also, the elasticities of disadvantaged groups, literate locals and agricultural workers vary for different relocations.
Originality/value
The current study affirms climate migration through the agricultural channel at a finer spatial scale, asserting the sensitivity aspect of disparate movements to periodic weather and heterogeneous clusters. This is critical for effectively implementing targeted public policies in the face of increasing climate risks.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2022-0710
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Foremost, the authors thank Ratnakar Barik from the Directorate of Census Operations of Odisha, who generously shared the migration data. The authors also acknowledge Dr Jajnaseni Rout from Ravenshaw University for invaluable support and guidance in navigating the Geographic Information System software and Prof Sholeh Maani from the University of Auckland for providing valuable suggestions to enhance the quality of this paper. Finally, the authors express gratitude to the editors and anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback, which has greatly improved the clarity of this paper.
Funding: No funding was received for conducting this study.
Competing interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Citation
Mohapatra, S., Das, A., Sahoo, D., Sharp, B. and Sahoo, A.K. (2023), "How climate-included variations in crop yields affect migration in India", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 50 No. 11, pp. 1521-1550. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-10-2022-0710
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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