Migration and Health Outcomes: The Case of a High Migration District in South Punjab

Given the importance of health in overall living standard of people, the present study has attempted to probe into the role of migration in affecting health status and outcomes of population. The health spending patterns of migrant households, both overseas and within-country, have been analysed and compared with those of non-migrant households to see whether there is some difference in the magnitude and trends of their spending on health care facilities or not. Data from both primary (Remittances and Health Survey, RHS) and secondary (Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) survey) sources have been utilised to get robust results and bridge the data deficiencies in order to get reliable estimates. Exploratory data analysis has been conducted on both the PSLM and RHS while propensity score matching (PSM) is done on the RHS data. The study finds that generally the households receiving remittances from abroad are better off in terms of various indicators of health as compared to households receiving remittances from with-in the country or those who do not receive remittances at all.