Alleviating Loneliness Among Migrant Garment Workers in India

Migration is necessary for economic mobility among many of the world’s poor. Yet, rates of internal migration are much lower than predicted given the substantial wage premium and opportunities for skill acquisition available in urban areas. While many potential reasons for this puzzle have been examined, much of the gap remains unexplained. In this research Professor Schofield and her team will explore a potentially important but understudied cause of low migration rates: loneliness and social isolation. In order to generate rigorous causal evidence on the relationship between economic advancement through migration and loneliness, the team will conduct a large randomized controlled trial (RCT) with garment factory workers in India. They will introduce two interventions to address social isolation and loneliness: 1) social support from a senior mentor, and 2) cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). They will evaluate impacts of the interventions on productivity, retention, remittances, savings, mental and physical health, and female empowerment. This work will shed light on a long standing puzzle in development economics, provide evidence on the importance of social capital as an element of human capital, and validate scaleable interventions to increase economic opportunities via migration for disadvantaged populations such as young women in India.