Migration Strategies and Income in Brazil: Implications for Rural Poverty

André B. Golgher, Centro de Desenvolvimento e Planejamento Regional (CEDEPLAR)

Poverty levels in Brazil present a remarkable spatial heterogeneity. The greatest proportions of poor people were observed in the rural parts of the Northeast and the North regions, especially for individuals with low levels of formal education. Migration from and to rural areas may have an impact on income and poverty levels for these individuals. In this paper, the actual migrants´ income is compared to a counter factual estimation of revenues if they had not migrated for different strategies of migration using a two-step Heckman procedure. For most migrants, migration was an effective strategy of income increase.