What happen to Children's Education When Their Parents Emigrate? Evidence from Sri Lanka

Abstract

The effect on the education of children of migrant parents is examined in this study. On an average, absentee parents, not separated by gender, did not have a significant effect on the education outcomes of children. However, differences in gender of the migrant seems to have some bearing on children’s education in some instances. With the migration of the mother, the education outcomes of the children worsens, but with the migration of the father the education outcomes seemed to improve. This is because the children are cared for by the mother in the absence of the father. Another interesting feature which emerged from this study is that in the case of less educated parents, the younger children and boys in particular seemed to gain from parental migration.