Impacts of labor migration for rural householdsin a particular setting in southwest China:: Resource Distribution and Second‐Generation Migrants

This thesis studies the impact of out‐migration of people from rural households in a particular setting in Yunnan Province, China, and the distribution of resources between these households. Household interviews were conducted and based on the data collected households were categorized, based on income, ownership, and consumption, in order to investigate the relationship between migration and household resources. Additionally, number of adult laborers in the households and size of landholdings were included, in the analysis, as factors that influence the distribution of resources between households. The findings from this thesis to a large degree overlaps the findings of Murphy (2002); labor migration affect the distribution of resources between households, as households with migrants have a clear tendency towards being better off. Households without migrants show the opposite tendency and are more often situated in the lowlevel resource categories. However, this thesis finds that, based on Chayanovian‐theory, number of adult laborers distributed between households is the main source of inequalities at the time of this single‐moment study. Households with many workers have easier access to participate in migration. Additionally, findings show support of the argument that second‐generation migrants are less loyal towards their households than first‐generation migrants and contribute with less remittance back to the household. However, second‐generation migrant households do not seem to be as dependent on receiving these remittances as first‐generation migrant households.