This paper uses panel data from two large, nationally-representative household surveys in Nicaragua (1998 and 2001) to examine the impact of international migration on labor market participation and poverty.  With panel data, the author is able to control for selectivity by using fixed effects.  Results suggest that when compared to non-migrant households, households with migrants in Nicaragua reduce their number of working members and their labor income. However, households with migrants are less likely to be poor, because migrant households receive more in remittance income than they do from work in the local markets.

This article was published for the first time in the Well-Being and Social Policy Journal, Vol. 2 Number 2, Second Semester 2006