Economic and Social Dynamics of Migration in Kerala, 1999-2004 Analysis of Panel Data

Panel studies based on the same set of sample households or individuals at two points of time 5 or 10 years apart are time consuming and are relatively rare in social science research. Such a method, however, was used in the South Asia Migration study (SMS) conducted by the Centre for Development Studies in 2004. About 125 of the 200 Panchayats surveyed in SMS were the same as those surveyed in Kerala Migration Study (KMS) in 1999. About 5 thousand of the 10 thousand households of SMS in 2004 were the same as those selected in KMS in 1999. About 14 thousand individuals in the 2004 sample households were the same as those enumerated in 1999. Thus, SMS provides comparable panel data for about 125 Panchayats, about 5 thousand households and about 14 thousand individuals at an interval of 5 years. Analysis of these panel data is the objective of this paper [CDS WP No. 384].