Migration, Remittances, and Children’s Schooling in Haiti

Abstract

The authors examine the impact of remittances on the schooling of children in various Haitian communities with a high incidence of out-migration. After addressing the endogeneity of remittance receipt, they find that, in some communities, remittances raise school attendance for all children regardless of whether they have household members abroad. However, in other communities, this effect is observed only among children living in households that do not experience any family out-migration. Hence, while the receipt of remittances by the household lifts budget constraints and raises the children’s likelihood of being schooled, the disruptive effect of household out-migration imposes an economic burden on the remaining household members and reduces children’s school attendance. As such, remittances ameliorate the negative disruptive effect of household out-migration on children’s schooling in some migrating communities in Haiti and, therefore, contribute to the accumulation of human capital in the midst of extreme poverty.