Impacts of Rural Labour Migration of South Bengal: A Case Study of Bankura and Purulia Districts of West Bengal, India

Abstract

Labour migration is a pervasive feature of economic development. People mobility for temporary or permanent labour purposes is a routine part of agricultural and industrial activity. There are very significant migration flows in some developing areas, with considerable impacts on individuals, households and regions at origin. Despite the growing debate about motivations and impacts of recent migration flows, costs and returns of this global phenomenon are still unclear and remain far outside the public policy realm. This is true especially with respect to migration of people from rural areas of developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to review key issues relating to rural labour migration and its links to economic development at origin. What is the impact of migration, both personal and social, on rural and socio-economic development in source regions. The study indicates that maximum rural labourers migrated with their family member during the period of peak seasons. The study revealed that poverty (90.2%), unemployment (89.2%) and landlessness (44%) were observed as major causes of rural labour migration.