Navigating Aspirations and Capabilities: How youth in Nepal understand migration during the transition to adulthood

• In Event: 40861 - Section on Sociology of Population Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 2: Life Course Transitions, Aging, and Health

Abstract

Migration is a complex process shaped by aspirations, family expectations, institutional constraints, and resource availability. For many, adolescence is the first time they face migration decisions alongside choices about marriage, education, and childbearing (Robertson et al., 2018). This period, known as the transition to adulthood, is “demographically dense,” with multiple life events occurring in a short time (Rindfuss, 1991). This study examines why some adolescents in Nepal choose to stay while others migrate and how gender shapes these decisions. Through 30 in-depth interviews with adolescents who have not yet left home, married, or had children, this paper explores how their aspirations and structural opportunities interact. Using the aspirations-capabilities framework, this paper analyzes the factors that shape their capabilities and how these inform migration aspirations. Preliminary findings suggest that many young adults aspire to migrate due to limited local opportunities, while those who wish to stay often have more resources, particularly higher education. The sequencing of aspirations—education, job, then marriage—suggests that migration may be a strategy for achieving these milestones. Notably, all young women in the sample aspire to migrate to a high-income country, whereas only half of the men do, and a third prefer to stay. In Nepal, gender norms may impose local constraints on girls, indirectly encouraging them to migrate due to limited professional and educational opportunities. Further analysis will explore how gender structures these decisions and contributes to broader inequalities in the transition to adulthood.

Author

• Emma R Labovitz, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill