In Whose Name? Women's Participation After the 2015 Nepali Earthquakes

• In Event: Women's Political Participation in Developing Countries

Abstract

Workers migrate when local economic opportunities are scarce. Yet we do not fully understand how economic migration affects the decision-making structures of those left behind. Since economic migrants are often men, some speculate that female family members are increasing in their decision-making roles. Analysis of this remains sparse, however. Leveraging the rebuilding from the 2015 Nepali earthquakes, I investigate whether having a male family member abroad is associated with higher participation rates for women. I utilize the 2018 survey data collected by the Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform (HRRP) in Nepal containing qualitative and quantitative data from 679 women in earthquake-affected districts, 128 of whom had a family member abroad. Employing logistic regression, I find that women with male family members abroad are more likely to have visited a government official on their own and have a rebuilding agreement in their name. I support this with HRRP’s qualitative data. I conclude by discussing implications and scope conditions that deserve more attention as we move forward in the theory and analysis of women in the context of economic immigration.

Author

• Shana Scogin, University of Notre Dame