Technical Appendix: What Is the Link Between Hunger and Migration?

The document details an econometric study on the drivers of international migration. It finds that while population growth and political instability are robust drivers globally, factors like undernourishment and extreme poverty do not show significant direct correlations in the full sample. However, in sub-samples of poor and African countries, GDP per capita growth negatively impacts migration flows, and lagged agricultural labour productivity shows a positive correlation with migration.

• Across the full global sample, the most robust drivers of changes in migrant flows are demographic evolution and political stability. Specifically, larger population increases correlate with larger migrant outflows, while increases in political stability correlate with smaller outflows.
• Variables related to undernourishment and poverty are not significant drivers of migration in the full sample. The authors suggest this is because North-North migration flows are not driven by extreme poverty, and extreme poverty can actually hinder migration by depriving individuals of the necessary monetary or social means to move.
• There is a positive relationship between increases in agricultural labour productivity and migrant flows when a five-year lag is applied. This suggests that productivity gains may reduce labour needs on farms or provide the financial means for household members to migrate, with a delay before the domestic economy can absorb the displaced labour.
• In sub-samples consisting of African countries or countries with poverty rates above 7.5%, economic growth (measured as the log variation of GDP per capita in PPP) has a strong negative impact on the flow of migrants.

APA

Laborde, D., & Lallemant, T. (2017). Technical Appendix: What Is the Link Between Hunger and Migration? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/uploads/link-between-hunger-migration-technical-appendix.pdf

Chicago

Laborde, David, and Tess Lallemant. Technical Appendix: What Is the Link Between Hunger and Migration? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/uploads/link-between-hunger-migration-technical-appendix.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Laborde |first1=David |last2=Lallemant |first2=Tess |title=Technical Appendix: What Is the Link Between Hunger and Migration? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=23 May 2017 |url=https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/uploads/link-between-hunger-migration-technical-appendix.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{laborde2017technical, author = {Laborde, David and Lallemant, Tess}, title = {{Technical Appendix: What Is the Link Between Hunger and Migration?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/uploads/link-between-hunger-migration-technical-appendix.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }