Migration and Left-Behind Households in Rural Cambodia: Structure and Socio-Economic Conditions

This report examines the socio-economic situation of households, including size, age, health, education, and economic condition, left behind by migrants. As presented in the report, when an older parent is left-behind they could be living with grandchild, spouse, child (sibling of the migrant) or other person. Almost 20% of households with an elderly parent left-behind also contain a child of the migrant (their grandchild). The report shows a higher probability of living in poor socio-economic conditions when a child of a migrant under age 12 is left behind in other situations. Socio-economic conditions tend to be worse in left behind households,that contain a single parent of the migrant (usually female) than in other households. Migrant households with younger children may be doing worse because adults living with children in poor socioeconomic conditions have greater impetus to migrate in an attempt to find better work than is available in their community of origin.