Migration and the Life Course in the Context of Social Change

Abstract

This paper uses data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal, to explore migration trajectories over the second half of the 20th century in relation to social change. We cover the timeframe from when the Chitwan Valley first opened to new settlement in the 1950s through its incorporation into the global economy in the 1980s and 1990s. Using a life course framework that features individual and historical time, we show how migration trajectories changed across birth cohorts. The dynamic and developing nature of places leads to important differences in the experiences of individuals. Although Chitwan is unique as a case, we argue that it helps us understand global migration patterns over the second half of the 20th century, as populations grew and development projects got underway (e.g., Barbieri et al. 2009; Moran et al. 2005; Schewel 2025).

We use neighborhood history calendars and published studies to describe macro changes. We use life history calendars and household registries for five birth cohorts of males (N = 3,485) and females (N = 3,261) from ages 0 to 34 and sequence analysis techniques, to develop a typology of nine trajectories that characterize the timing, direction, and destinations of migration. We describe heterogeneity in these trajectories within and between cohorts, examining in-, out-, and return migration across internal and international boundaries. This is a distinctive feature of our study and enables us to capture female and male migration. We find that individuals seem to specialize in internal or international migration, with stasis increasingly common for females, and international out-migration increasingly common for males. The divergence of male and female migration patterns appears to be a recent phenomenon. Increasingly, age patterns of migration have become concentrated.

Over time, most people experience a change in place – whether through departing a place themselves, macro change, or the movement of people into or out of a place. Trajectories allow us to describe migration as a transition in individuals’ lives. A typology of trajectories makes it possible to capture key elements of migration timing, direction, and destination. Cohort comparisons demonstrate shifts in migration in the history of a place.

* This article belongs to a special issue on “Migration Trajectories Across the Life Course”.