About The Project
Bridging the gap in longitudinal evidence on family migration and youth development.
Understanding Family Migration Across Generations
FAMELO and FAMELO-FUN explore how family migration influences children's socio-emotional wellbeing, educational aspirations, family relationships, and the transition into adulthood. By following the same participants over multiple years and across diverse cultural settings, the projects provide one of the most comprehensive longitudinal studies examining migration and child development in low- and middle-income countries.
Why Family Migration Matters
Household migration often provides families with greater income, creating opportunities to invest in children's education, healthcare, and future wellbeing. Many parents choose migration because they believe it offers their children better opportunities and a pathway toward improved living conditions.
Yet migration also transforms everyday family life. When one parent moves away for employment, the remaining caregiver often assumes greater responsibility for children's education, emotional wellbeing, and daily development. Children themselves experience changing family relationships, new responsibilities, and periods of separation that can influence their aspirations, confidence, and future plans.
Rather than viewing migration solely through its economic benefits, FAMELO examines the broader experiences of children and families. By interviewing both caregivers and children, the project provides valuable insight into how young people perceive education, work, migration, and family life as they grow into adulthood.
A Cross-Country Perspective
Conducted across Nepal, Mexico, and Mozambique, FAMELO compares how different social, cultural, and economic environments shape children's development while identifying common experiences shared by families affected by migration.
Research Design
The project began with a collaborative pilot study designed across Nepal, Mexico, and Mozambique to identify culturally appropriate measures for children and caregivers. These pilot activities ensured that the research reflected the realities of each setting while maintaining comparable data across all three countries.
Wave I interviewed children aged 5–17 years together with their caregivers in more than 2,000 households within each study setting. A follow-up survey maintained contact with participating families before Wave II was successfully completed despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This longitudinal approach enables researchers to observe how migration experiences, educational aspirations, parenting practices, and family relationships evolve over time rather than relying on observations from a single point in children's lives.
Study at a Glance
Major Research Findings
By following the same participants over multiple years, the project reveals how migration influences educational aspirations, family relationships, and children's long-term development across diverse social and cultural settings.
Educational Aspirations
Children experiencing greater adversity were more likely to report lower educational aspirations, demonstrating how family stability and household resources influence children's long-term educational goals.
Migration Intentions
Young people with strong educational aspirations remained just as likely to plan migration as their peers. However, they were considerably more likely to view migration as an opportunity for further education, while others more often planned migration for employment or family-related reasons.
External Shocks
Families experiencing job and income loss during the COVID-19 pandemic showed noticeable declines in children's educational aspirations over time, highlighting how unexpected crises can influence young people's future opportunities.
Cross-country Evidence
Despite differences across Nepal, Mexico, and Mozambique, many patterns relating to migration, parenting, education, and adolescent development were remarkably consistent, providing evidence that these challenges extend beyond any single national context.