Kerala homes that have a member abroad are better off

The households in Kerala that have at least one family member living abroad are better off economically as compared to those families with no member abroad, says a study.

This was revealed in a study titled Kerala Migration Survey 2014, the sixth in the series of an ongoing migration monitoring study being conducted by demographer K.C. Zachariah and S. Irudayarajan of the Centre for Development Studies, which was released here Wednesday.

During the 12-month period ending March 1 this year, a total of Rs.72,680 crore came into Kerala through the 23.63 lakh emigrants from the state, most of whom are in the Middle East, the study said.

According to the latest figures, out of the 8.19 million households in Kerala, 19 percent had at least one family member abroad.

The study said that 22.3 percent of the households that have at least one family member abroad owned a car, while only 15.9 percent of the households with no member aboard had a car.

Also, 41.80 percent of the diaspora households owned a two-wheeler, while 34.6 percent of the non-diaspora households had a two-wheeler.

Similarly, 72.3 percent of the diaspora households had a refrigerator, while 48.6 percent of the non-diaspora homes had one.

Ninety percent of the homes with a family member abroad had a TV, while this figure was 86 percent for the other category.

Similarly, the percentage of diaspora households that had a computer, a microwave and internet connection was higher than those who did not have a member abroad.

Irudayarajan told IANS that a major impact of emigration and receipt of remittances on the household is on the possession of common consumer durables such as a television, cell phones and similar items.

"The increase in household disposable income is used to buy these consumer items. Households with a member abroad are more likely to possess a consumer item than a household with no member aboard," he said.