are necessary to be eligible for the state quota in educational institutes. And the certificate is issued upon proof of continuous residence in the state, the duration of which varies from 3 to 10 years.<sup>18</sup> Therefore, a 16-year-old who attended high school in Tamil Nadu would lose eligibility for state quota seats if the family were to migrate, and yet not be immediately eligible for similar benefits in the destination state. This non-eligibility for state quota seats in either state would restrict a migrant's options for higher education compared to non-migrants, thereby reducing incentives to move.

The literature suggests that domicile requirements for state quota eligibility in institutions of higher education provide disincentives for interstate migration. Kone et al. (2016) show that the share of the migrants who chose home-state destinations among all migrants who moved for educationrelated reasons is positively correlated with the share of college-attending students among all 1822-year-old state natives in each state (controlling for average household income per capita). This is consistent with the argument that state government policies granting preferential access to higher education to in-state students tend to induce potential migrants moving for education to move within states.

# **E. Circular or Short-Term Migrants**

The definitions adopted by the NSSO and the Census are unlikely to result in reliable estimates of short-term migration. Individuals who migrate, leaving their families and property, with the intention of returning, either because they have precarious jobs in the destination areas or if the cost of permanent relocation is high relative to its benefits, are referred to as circular or short-term migrants. The 2001 Census defines a migrant as a person residing in a place that is different from his or her place of birth or “usual place of last residence”, where the latter refers to place of residence for six months or more.<sup>19</sup> This is likely to miss a significant number of short-term migrants who have as much of a chance of being counted in their place of birth or last residence as they do at their new destination. The 2007-08 National Sample Survey (NSS) counts short-term migrants as those who have not stayed in their “usual place of last residence” for a period between one month and six months. The circular migration cycle, however, can be longer than six months.

Compared to these data sources, the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) more accurately captures circular migrants, the absolute numbers of which are notably higher. Unlike the Census and NSS household survey, the IHDS captures short-term/seasonal migrants who may be away for more than six months. In particular, the 2011-12 survey<sup>20</sup> asks respondents: “Have you or any member of your household left to find seasonal/short-term work during the last 5 years and returned to live here?” Only 9 percent of households reported having a circular migrant, and the share of circular migrants in the total population was less than 2 percent. Yet, the absolute number of short-term migrants – estimated at over 200 million in 2011-12 – was more than 10 times the 15.2 million short-term migrants in the 2007-08 NSSO household survey. Of the households that reported at least one circular migrant, 45 percent were classified as SC/ST, and for an

> 18 For example, the state of Rajasthan issues domicile certificates to individuals who have resided continuously in the state for at least 10 years, while the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) requires continuous residence for at least 3 years. 19 With the exception of newborn infants.

> 20 This section of the questionnaire was not included in the 2004-05 survey.

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