Migration and the life cycle of households in southern Peru

"This paper examines the relationships between migration and the life cyle of households in contexts where the economic activities of peasant families are increasingly diversified and where off-farm labor has come to form a vital part of subsistence strategies. Research from the department of Puno, southern Peru is used to explore the issues this raises including: (a) differences between externally induced economic differentiation and the life cycle dynamics of peasant households; (b) the differing migratory patterns of rich and poor households; and (c) the effects of migration on household labor supply and productive organization. The paper concludes by suggesting that for poor families, who exercise less control over the timing of the migratory process, migration may cause disruptive effects in [production], a reorientation of the household division of labor, and changes in reproductive decision-making."