Food Security: The impact of migrants and remittances in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this paper is to show that migrants and the subsequent remittances influence household food consumption in different ways. This paper contributes to the literature by developing an analytical framework to analyse how migrants and remittances need to be looked at separately in the migration/food security nexus. The multivalued treatment effect is used to analyse the model using the Sri Lankan household income and expenditure data (2016/17). The findings of this study shed light on areas where the government and policymakers should focus on improving the impact of migration and remittances on food security in Sri Lanka. The study's findings show that migrants and remittances affect food expenditure, calorie consumption dietary diversity in two distinct ways. Both migrants and remittances positively impact food expenditure and calorie consumption. However, remittances promote less healthy food consumption, while migrants promote healthy food consumption. Migrants and remittances jointly affect households to purchase and consume calories from expensive food. Remittances positively affect food diversity in terms of both expenditure and calorie consumption. However, migrants positively affect only expenditure-based food diversity.

Keywords

• Food security
• Migration
• Remittances
• Sri Lanka