Migration and Upward Mobility in the Labour Market: The Case of Kerala

Photo Courtesy: Paradiz

International migration from Kerala, primarily to the Gulf is dominated by comparatively less educated semi skilled workers while domestic migration mainly to major Indian cities is comprised  of educated youth.

Abstract: Millions of people migrate, within and outside their country, to widen their livelihood prospects. The movement is central to the upliftment of living standards for migrants and their families. Using the Kerala Migration Survey (KMS), 2018, this study attempts to examine the relationship between migration and upward mobility.

The author is PhD Scholar, Economics Area, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indore. f15poojab@iimidr.ac.in. The article should be cited as Batra P. 2019, Migration and Upward Mobility in the Labour Market: The Case of Kerala, Geography and You, 19(27): 29-35


Term Power

What is ...

According to the International Organisation of Migration, emigration is defined from the perspective of the country of departure—the act of moving from one's usual residence to another country so that the country of destination effectively becomes his or her usual residence.

A cycle of migration by the same person between two or more countries is known as circular migration. It is temporary in nature and mainly undertaken for study or work.

Deportation is an act to force someone to leave a country, especially someone who has no legal right to be there or who has broken the law.

Repatriation is a personal right of a refugee or prisoner of war to return to their country of nationality under specific conditions laid down in various international and human rights instruments as well as in customary international law.

Diaspora is a large group of people with a similar heritage or homeland who have moved out to places and countries all over the world.

A cross border and internal monetary transfer by the migrants remittances are primarily personal money transfer or business payments. The term ‘remittance’ is derived from the word ‘remit’, which means ‘to send back’. Remittance refers to an amount of money transferred or sent from one party to another, usually overseas.