ABSTRACT
Reducing the cost of migration is one aim of the Sustainable Development Goals in facilitating “orderly, safe, regular and responsible” migration. The financial costs paid for jobs abroad that should be borne by foreign employers can be a substantial portion of the migrant’s foreign earnings. To date, there is limited data that enables policymakers to examine the costs incurred by workers in obtaining jobs abroad. This study uses multiple waves of the Kerala Migration Survey to construct a novel disaggregated time-series of migration cost spanning over three decades. Cost in real terms are found to be declining, driven by falling airfares and visa fees and are lower, when all else is equal, for female migrants, for those with higher education and when other members of the household are working abroad. Future research could explore why a premium persists for jobs in Saudi Arabia and the role of migrant networks.
