Exit as Disengagement: The Political Implications of Economic Migration in Rural India

Abstract: How does migration transform citizen-state relations in developing countries? This paper examines the long-run effects of internal migration on household political engagement in left behind areas. I argue that migration helps households self-insure against economic uncertainty but siphons away political spearheads, weakening the incentives and capacity of those left behind to participate in politics. I develop and test this argument in India using a novel panel dataset that tracked more than 8,000 rural households over a 16-year period, and an original household survey in a high-migration corridor (N=1,686). Using a difference-in-differences design, I show that household migration reduces contact with elected officials and depresses engagement in community affairs. Survey evidence further corroborates these findings: members of migrant households are systematically less likely to vote, campaign, protest, and contest local elections compared to their non-migrant counterparts. These findings underscore an overlooked political cost of migration with important implications for democratic accountability.

Key Words: Migration; Self-insurance; Political brain drain, Political disengagement; Democratic accountability; Left behind regions