A Test of the New Economics of Labor Migration Hypothesis: Evidence from Rural Kenya

The objective of this paper is to test the new economics of labor migration theory (NELM) using panel data on rural farm households in Kenya. There are no significant migration-induced labor losses while number of migrants rather than level of remittances, positively influence crop and total farm income. Unlike findings from other studies, crop income does not decrease as migrants leave their households. The implication is that this finding may not support the predictions of NELM, that migration is associated with lost-labor effects which may be partially or fully offset by remittances. However, study findings indicate that taken together, migration and remittances play a role in production activities of migrant-sending households