Child Migration in National Surveys
Author(s): A. Castaldo A. Whitehead G. Sondhi S. Gent
This paper uses part of the data collected in the MiNS catalogue to investigate how the theme of child migration is treated in some of the existing household surveys and censuses and how these data have been or could be used to study child migration. The paper primarily focuses on how LSMS surveys, DHS surveys and censuses are relevant to questions of child migration. The paper highlights some of the strengths and limitations of the survey questionnaires, and of the subsequent data, in terms of measuring and analysing child migration. It also assesses how the data from household surveys have been used in official reports and other relevant publications. In doing so, the paper describes the objectives, the structure and the content of the MiNS catalogue. The papers concludes by highlighting LSMS surveys as containing the richest migration-related content among the three surveys analysed. The paper also highlights one common weakness for all survey types; it relates to the inability of the surveys to clarify the exact link between children's migration status and their parents' migration status.