Determinants of temporary migration of rural small, marginal and landless households in West Bengal, India

Using data collected at the village level, the present paper examines the socio-economic determinants of temporary labour migration in West Bengal, a state located in Eastern India. West Bengal is thickly populated with a high man–land ratio and characterised by high level of rural unemployment, underemployment, or disguised employment constituting an ideal condition for out-migration. The information, including several demographic and socio-economic factors, has been collected from the field with the help of household schedules prepared for the purpose. Out of a total of 756 households residing in the sample villages, 185 male migrant households were randomly selected. The field survey was carried out during March–October, 2019. The study revealed that the propensity to migrate was far greater among the younger males compared to the middle and the old aged. It was also found that more males from the socio-economically deprived landless classes such as the scheduled caste and the scheduled tribe households migrated out in larger proportion. Frequent occurrence of drought, however, acted as a trigger to the landholding households too to resort to temporary migration as a coping strategy. Higher wage rate and regular work availability at destinations constituted the pull factors attracting males to migrate even from the non-drought affected villages.