Household expenditures for children-related goods may
change when one of the parent migrates and do so differently
depending on whether it is the mother or the father
that leaves. A sequential model that explains migration and
budget allocation choices is proposed and its predictions are
tested on data from Indonesia. Selection of households into
female migration is accounted for using a set of instrumental
variables derived from the model. Results show that when
children are left with fathers, the household budget is significantly
diverted toward the purchase of adult private goods,
but the share of budget devoted to children remains unaffected
because mothers compensate by giving up their own
private consumption and sending home more remittances.