Resettlement and the Agricultural Productivity of Origin Locations

Abstract How do large out-migration shocks affect agricultural productivity in origin locations? Planned resettlements, forced migration, and climate change have resulted in various relocation schemes across the globe. In this paper, I examine the effects of large-scale out-migration on origin locations considering a government-mandated resettlement in Ethiopia that relocated close to 600,000 people from densely-populated and drought-prone areas. Using a difference-indifference strategy that exploits variation in out-resettlement across districts with similar environmental stressors, I find that agricultural productivity increases relatively in districts with a greater share of out-resettled population. These effects persist for several years after the end of the resettlement program. The results suggest that improvements in land distribution facilitated by the resettlement helped to lessen land degradation and increase agricultural productivity. JEL Codes: O12, O13, O15, O21, Q12, Q15, Q18, Q24, Q32