The assimilation of migrant households in the urban areas of a developing country

This paper explores the economic performance of rural-urban migrant households in the recently flourishing urban areas of Nepal. Using nationally representative primary survey data, we find that upon their arrival, these migrant households have 24 percent less income and 13 percent less consumption than their local counterparts but converge to equal levels of income and consumption after 10 and three years, respectively. Our results suggest that a higher level of education accelerates the speed of assimilation. Compared with the Mountain/Hill regions, migrants in the prosperous Tarai region possess a lower level of welfare upon arrival but exhibit more rapid assimilation.