Remittances and labour supply in post-conflict Tajikistan

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of remittances on the labour supply of men and women in post-conflict Tajikistan. We find that on average men and women from remittance-receiving households are less likely to participate in the labour market and supply fewer hours when they do. The negative effect of remittances on labour supply is smaller for women, which is an intriguing result as other studies on remittances and labour supply (primarily focused on Latin America) have shown that female labour supply is more responsive to remittances. The results are robust to using different measures of remittances and inclusion of variables measuring migration of household members. We estimate a joint effect of remittances and an individual’s residence in a conflict-affected area during the Tajik civil war. Remittances had a larger impact on the labour supply of men living in conflict-affected areas compared to men in less conflict-affected areas. The impact of remittances on the labour supply of women does not differ by their residence in both the more or less conflict affected area. Keywords: international migration; remittances; labour markets; Tajikistan.