Challenges in the Definition of the Left Behind in International Migration Studies

The large differences in income per capita across countries imply that the occurrence of an international migration episode can have far-reaching implications also for the family members left behind, as international migrants typically share a substantial portion of their income gain through remittances sent back home. This chapter reviews the approaches adopted in the literature to define the individuals left behind. This critical and often data-constrained analytical choice can have significant implications for the econometric analysis of the effects of migration and remittances on nonmigrant individuals and for comparing results found using different definitions. It discusses the existing wedge between the theoretical representation of migration decisions, which puts the family at center stage, and the empirical analysis, which mainly focuses on a narrower set of family members who coresided with the migrant. The empirical literature mainly relies on three main approaches, defining the left behind as the members (i) of a remittance-recipient household, (ii) of a household reporting the migration of a former household member, or (iii) as the relatives of the migrant, e.g., spouse, parents, or children. The chapter documents the variety of definitions applied in empirical analyses, discussing their implications and limitations. It also reviews some recent advances in the literature, which explore the endogeneity of household composition and family structure with the occurrence of an international migration episode.