Determinants of duration of migration: the case of free movement of labour force

In this paper, we define the determinants of migration duration, assuming free movement of migrants between the home country and the host country. The empirical findings show that mobility of migrants between the host county (Russia) and home country (Tajikistan) is determined by age, employment before migration, and whether the migrant is the head of the household. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates that the longer the duration of migration, the higher the remittances and the larger the ratio of travel costs to income, the lower the remittances. This is because migrants increase the duration of emigration and avoid travel costs to increase remittances. However, migrants with higher monthly income have a lower ratio of travel costs to income and are likely to visit their families more often.