Date of Award
5-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Economics
First Advisor
Dr. Alexander Persaud
Second Advisor
Dr. Maia Linask
Third Advisor
Dr. Alexander Persaud
Abstract
This paper investigates whether children in Indian households receiving more remittances have better educational outcomes. India is the world’s largest recipient of remittances and is characterized by a unique socioeco- nomic and demographic context that makes any educational improvements or disparities particularly impactful on global education metrics. Using panel data from the India Human Development Survey, I employ OLS and logit regressions with household fixed effects, a difference-in-differences strategy, and a Heckman selection model. Two measures of educational outcomes are analyzed: weekly hours spent at school and school enrollment. Findings suggest that an increase in remittances leads to a higher likelihood of enrollment. This effect is particularly strong for lower-middle-income households, for whom a Rs.1,000 increase in annual remittances leads to a 3.31 percentage point rise in enrollment probability. When scaled nationally, this implies that around 200,000 additional children in India would enroll in school if all remittance-receiving households in this income group received Rs.1,000 (USD 12) more per year.
Recommended Citation
Kalwala, Neha Reddy, "The Impact of Remittances on Children’s Educational Outcomes: The Case of India" (2025). Honors Theses. 1833.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/1833
