Parental international migration and health of children left-behind: evidence from an Asian economy

Purpose There is a considerable gap in the literature examining the effect of parental international migration on children’s health in Pakistan. The author aims to examine the impact of parental international labour migration on the health (anthropometric measures) of children left-behind in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach The author investigates the impact of parental international labour migration on the health (anthropometric measures) of children left-behind in Pakistan using econometric estimation techniques and the latest wave of the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017–2018. The main child health measures the author uses include weight-for-age (WAZ) and height-for-age (HAZ) Z-scores for children under five years of age. Since unobservable factors may be vital determinants of the child nutrition outcomes, the author uses two unique instrumental variables to address the potential endogeneity problem. Findings The author finds that international migration improves the left-behind children’s weight-for-age and height-for-age nutritional outcomes, generating essential policy insights. Originality/value To the best of the auhtor’s knowledge, no previous study has been conducted on parental migration and left-behind children in Pakistan using the latest Demographic and Health Survey.