The Impact of remittances on household food security: Evidence from a survey in Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the impact of international remittances on household food security, using robust food security measurement indices constructed from a cross-section sample of rural households in Bangladesh. A Two Stage Least Square Instrumental Variable Method (2SLS-IV) and Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) were used to regress food security measurement indicators with remittances and households socioeconomic and demographic variables. Results indicate that remittances influence food security conditions significantly and therefore represent a critical component of household food security. In general, remittances are positively correlated with household food-related consumption expenditures. The results also indicate that the presence of remittances reduces food-related uncertainties and provides a coping strategy for the household to counterbalance food-related shocks and improves the quality of diet in remittance-receiving households. Overall, it seems that emigration of a household member and consequent remittance flows increase the probability of a household being food secure.

KEYWORDS:

• International migration
• remittances
• food security
• dietary diversity

Disclosure statement

The author declared that they have no conflict of interest. The researcher received approval from his institutional ethics review board (ERB). The research was performed according to the guidelines of ERB. The participants also gave written informed consent to participate in the study. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Additional information

Funding

This research received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada.

Notes on contributors

Mohammad Moniruzzaman

Mohammad Moniruzzaman received his PhD from Geography and Environmental Studies Department, Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada and MA degree in Economics from Ritsumeikan University in Japan. His research interests are in economic and environmental migration, international remittances, migration and food security interlinkages.