Calling the Shots: Determinants of Financial Decision-making and Behavior in Domestic Migrant Households in India

Vinith Kurian, Shashank Sreedharan and Fabrizio Valenti

March 2022

Households, like individuals, rely on a variety of financial products and services: they use cash and credit cards to make payments and they make investments to finance future expenses, buy insurance to manage risks to themselves and their assets, and borrow money to finance large expenses or in times of emergency. Migration constitutes one of the most widely used household financial strategies. There is a critical need to understand what factors drive financial decision-making in migrant households and how these strategies may differ from non-migrant households.

Published with the support of Dvara Research Foundation, the study explores household financial decision-making through the lens of migration and uses a comparative approach to examine how factors such as gender, household composition, migrant typology, risk preferences, financial sophistication, and information asymmetry influence financial decision-making and financial behavior in migrant households.

Results from this study are expected to hold several implications for further research and policy discourse. Apart from providing valuable insights about the financial choices and decision-making in migrant households, the findings contribute to an improved understanding of the financial preferences and risk appetites of migrant households. This can potentially help inform targeted information campaigns and better financial literacy and awareness interventions for research and practice.

Type

Journal Article

Thematic Area

Financial Well-being and Social Protection