Household Size and Women Empowerment

Abstract

Women’s empowerment is a major concern in the developing world and an integral part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Women’s empowerment can be significantly affected, both positive and negative, by other household member’s decision to migrate. This study explores the consequences of migration for left-behind women in Bangladesh. This study examines the way that women’s bargaining power within household is affected, whether positive or negatively, by the migration of other household members. To test this hypothesis, this study presents empirical model that analyses women’s empowerment in rural Bangladesh with data from 2011–12 and 2015. I adopt multidimensional measures of empowerment encompassing violence, mobility restrictions, production activities, income, and leadership. The study finds significant evidence that migration of a member decreases some constraints of mobility, and decision-making for production activities. The results infer that migration leads to improvements in bargaining power of left-behind women. My findings are also robust to various specifications and hold when empowerment is measured in various ways.