Youth Migration and Human Capital Development in Indonesia

Abstract

Migration is influenced by various factors, including age and education. The effect of age is shown through the domination of young adult migrants, while education has consistently shown a positive association with migration behaviour. Since migration can play a prominent role in affecting human capital accumulation and redistribution, examining the education-specific patterns of youth migration is critical to understanding its implications for human capital development, particularly in the education dimension. Although the relation between education and migration have been extensively studied, thorough studies on the interaction between migration dynamics and educational performance remain rare in many developing countries. Therefore, by analysing cross-sectional and longitudinal datasets, as well as combining aggregate- and individual-level approaches, this thesis contributes to the literature by exploring education-specific migration dynamics of young adult Indonesians. This country is chosen as a case study country due to its interregional variations in population structure and economic development. This study has shown that education is one of the most important determinants of youth migration. In terms of spatial structure of migration, rural regions have acted as prominent sources of migration of primary-educated groups. At the same time, these regions have also increased their importance as destination areas for tertiary-educated migrants. Further, the effects of regional connectedness are shown to be stronger for migration flows by groups with higher educational backgrounds. In contrast, social capital has a more pronounced effect on lower-educated group. It is evidenced that people with low level of education migrate for the first time at younger ages, possibly after the termination of their schooling careers. This situation illustrates a strong negative selection of education towards migration. This study also finds that education-related motives is critical in explaining the high migration propensity around the age of 18 to 19 years by tertiary-educated group. The shares of repeat migrants also increase considerably for higher-educated groups. Tertiary-educated migrants, particularly, have the highest likelihood of migrating onward. Life-course transitions after initial migration also significantly influence the patterns of migration trajectories. Repeat migration is highly pronounced among those who continue education, enter the labour force, and change marital status after their first migration. This study provides several new insights into the relationships between migration and educational performance. First, the distinctive patterns of education-specific migration structure. These findings contribute substantially to the understanding of human capital redistribution through internal migration. Second, a more nuanced understanding of the education-migration nexus through the variations in age at first migration. The results emphasise the critical role of migration as an alternative to human capital acquisition. Lastly, the varied levels and patterns of migration trajectories broaden our knowledge on the importance of migration in human capital redistribution. The results also underline the importance of repeat migration in improving the return on investment in human capital. This work has demonstrated complementary insights into migration dynamics from macro- and micro-level perspectives in Indonesia. Migration is considered to have a critical role in human capital distribution. However, the selective nature of education on migration has several implications for human capital investment in Indonesia and other developing countries. The persistent challenges in education and employment opportunities as shown in this study call for effort on the management of human capital flows that puts more consideration into sub-national differences in the population profile and regional development. Show more