Migration, Livelihoods and Gender: New Evidence and Insights from the Odisha Migration Study (International Perspectives on Migration)

This open access book estimates migration and remittances from Odisha and covers various aspects of social and economic development, based on the Odisha Migration Study 2023, a first-of-its-kind survey of 15,000 households and several mixed-methods studies in the state. In Odisha, one of India’s poorest states, migration has emerged as a fundamental feature of social and economic life. Yet, little is known about its characteristics, patterns, and processes.

Bringing together a group of multidisciplinary scholars to study a wide range of issues through the lens of migration, this book covers the areas of education, work and employment, livelihoods and income, access to government programmes, housing and amenities, land and asset ownership, food security, women’s autonomy and mobility, gender health and well-being, and youth aspirations and attitudes towards agriculture.

As the first comprehensive book on Odisha migration, it is of great interest to scholars and researchers of migration studies, development studies, development economics, sociology, demography, public policy, and South Asian studies. It is also useful to policymakers and civil society organisations. 

Amrita Datta is an assistant professor of Development Studies at the Department of Liberal Arts, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad. Amrita’s research interests are in the areas of migration and mobilities, agrarian change and rural development, women’s work, and gender and development. Amrita’s recent book, Migration and Development in India: The Bihar Experience (Routledge), based on empirical research, studies out-migration from rural Bihar in the context of neoliberal economic development in India. Amrita has published in several edited books and journals such as the Journal of Development Studies, Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, Children’s Geographies, Indian Journal of Labour Economics and the Economic and Political Weekly. Amrita has a Ph.D. in Development Studies from the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and an M.Phil. in the same subject from the University of Cambridge.

S. Irudaya Rajan is the chair, International Institute of Migration and Development. He is a former professor at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Kerala (close 40 years of post-graduate experience), and currently, the chair of the KNOMAD (The Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development), World Bank working group on internal migration and urbanization. He is one of the expert committee members to advise the Government of Kerala on Covid-19. He has published in international journals on social, economic, demographic, psychological, and political implications of migration on individuals, community, economy, and society. He is the editor of the annual series India Migration Report since 2010 and South Asia Migration Report since 2017 published by Routledge. He is also the founder editor in chief, of the journal, Migration and Development (Sage).