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Durham E-Theses Patterns and processes of Tunisian migration Findlay, A. M. How to cite: Findlay, A. M. (1980) Patterns and processes of Tunisian migration, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/8041/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk PATTERNS AND PROCESSES OP TUNISIAN MIGRATION Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Durham for the Degree of Ph D. Mian M Pindlay M A Department of Geography May 1980 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged 1 ABSTRACT Patterns and processes of post-war Tunisian migration are examined m this thesis from a spatial perspective The concept of 'migration regions' proved particularly interesting in this context, highlighting the orderly character of internal migration Comparison of different taxonomic procedures for transforming interaction matrices not only illustrated the advantages and disadvantages of different clustering techniques, but also facilitated explanation of contemporary migration patterns The hypothesis of the 'mobility transition' provides an interesting yardstick against which trends m internal migration and other mobility characteristics may be measured Although the development of Tunisian migration resembles m some respects the pattern prescribed by the mobility transition hypothesis, it is shown that it would be wrong to conclude that the evolution of Tunisian migration is a predetermined unilinear process International migration grew rapidly m importance to Tunisian job seekers m the late 1960s and early 1970s, becoming more important m some regions of Tunisia than out-migration to Tunis. Calculation of migration quotients for emigration to France and Libya shows that international movement of workers has been a highly selective process, not only with regard to migrant characteristics, but also with regard to regions of origin and destination An attempt is made to explain the changing pattern of Tunisian emigration, and to identify elements of spatial order within the evolving emigration process 11 Migration both at the internal and international scale is closely associated with migrants' aspirations for occupational and social mobility A.n understanding of the complex relation• ships "between these different forms of mobility is a prerequisite tu meaningful migration planning The thesis corcludes by outlining the relevance to policy formulation of spatial analysis of migration and employment patterns, and. by reviewing the possible strategies which the Tunisian government might adopt for migration and manpower planning 1X1 CONTENTS ABSTRACT i CONTENTS 111 PREFACE IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vn SECTION 1 1 Introduction 1 2 Spatial Structures in Tunisia 13 SECTION 2 INTERNAL MIGRATION 3- Patterns of Internal Migration, I856-I966 36 4 Zonation of Migration Patterns on the Basis of Similarity Criteria 76 5 Migration Region Analysis 117 6 The Tunisian Migration System in Transition 156 SECTION 3 INTERNATIONAL MI&RATION 7. The Selectivity of International Migration 187 8. Spatial Analysis of Tunisian Emigration 216 SECTION 4 SPATIAL, OCCUPATIONAL AND SOCIAL MOBILITY 9- Labour Mobility and the Tunisian Labour Market 260 10 Regional Studies of Employment and Migration 295 11 Migration Policies 346 SECTION 5 12 Summary and Conclusions 383 GLOSSARY 393 APPENDICES 1-3 396 BIBLIOGRAPHY 406 IV PREFACE This thesis documents some research findings concerning the operation of the Tunisian migration system. It does not claim to offer an exhaastive analysis either of the migration process or of Tunisian population geography, but seeks to describe and explain only those aspects of Tunisian migration which were of greatest interest to me during my three years as a research student at the University of Durham (September 1976 - September 1979)- I visited Tunisia on four separate occasions during the preparation of the thesis in order to collect primary and secondary data for analysis in Durham, as well as to extend my personal awareness of the nature of Tunisian society and of the lifestyles of the communities I was studying. Apart from consulting the very wide range of interesting material available at the Centre for Middle ^ast and Islamic Studies at the University of Durham, I was fortunate in also being able to visit the documentation unit of the Centre de Recherche des Economies et Societes Mlditerraneennes at the University of Aix en Provence Prom amongst other Arab and African nations, Tunisia was chosen for study since it encapsulates within one small country of 5*6 million people many of the problems faced by other members of the Third World. M oreover, Tunisia affords many advantages for research which other developing countries do not possess. For example, the Tunisians have a long record of conducting reasonably reliable population censuses (Clarke, 1972). This gives authority to research findings based on comparative analysis of census records. A further attractive feature of research in Tunisia is the availability of a large number of recent reports and academic studies carried out by Tunisian geographers and social scientists, offering an indigenous view of the country's prospects and problems added to which, the stability of the political regime m Tunisia is of special interest to the student of migration. In the 22f years since independence was gained from the French, voluntary migration has proceeded almost uninterrupted by civil strife or other forms of internal disoider which generate refugee migration and forced population movement This is a situation experienced by few other Arab or African nations and one which facilitates analysis of migration patterns. Much of this thesis (Chapters 3 to 6 and Chapter 9) is based on the results of the 1966 and 1975 censuses. Unfortunately, not all the results of the 1975 census had been published at the time of presenting this thesis. Migration matrices were available at the level of Tunisia's 18 gouvernorats (the largest administrative districts), but not at the more detailed level of delegations (sub-divisions of gouvernorats). The publication of a monthly bulletin containing regional statistics for international migration permitted a more precise and more up-to-date investigation to be made of international population movements. VI A wide range of secondary data sources has been used in this research and to facilitate point-to-point checking throughout the text, a code has been assigned to each data set A list of these data codes and the matrices to which they refer is given m Appendix 1. Precision has also been attempted in the terminology used m this thesis Throughout the text, the terms ' m-migration' and ' out-migration* specifically refer to internal migration, while international moves are described as 'immigration' and 'emigration'. Other terms which the author has endowed with specific meaning are listed in the glossary (p.393). In order to keep footnotes to a minimum, the Harvard reference system has been adopted and a list of the published work cited is included at the end of the thesis rather than after each chapter. Vll ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My greatest debt is to my parents and to my wife, Anne My parents were first to arouse my interest m geography by encouraging me to marvel at, to question and to seek to understand the fascinating patterns of the world around. I am also extremely grateful to my wife, since her interest m geography has frequently given me heart at times when my own search for geographical explanation has seemed to be m vain Her personal support and enthusiasm have sustained me throughout my research I have been greatly encouraged during my studies by many individuals At the University of Aberdeen, Mr Eric Naylor convinced me of the value of adopting scientific method in geographical analysis, while Dr Brian Beeley introduced me to the varied patterns and problems of the Arab world In the University of Durham, Professor John Clarke consolidated my interest m population geography, and as my supervisor gave me generous assistance in planning and executing my research I am particularly grateful to him for his helpful comments on the early drafts of this thesis Dr Richard Lawless of the Middle East Documentation Centre provided a rich fund of relevant materials for consultation, as well as being a catalyst to thought on many North African topics Data collection m Tunisia was greatly facilitated by the efforts of Dr. Jean-Marie Miossec of the University of Tunis, and by Professor Mohammed Fakhfakh of the Centre d'Etudes Economiques et Sociales, Tunis, as well as by the cooperation of many Vlll officials of the Office des Travailleurs Tunisiens a l'Etranger, de l'Emploi et de la Formation, Tunis. Dr Michael Hirst, University of Western Australia, Professor Ian Masser, University of Sheffield, Dr David Rhmd, University of Durham and Dr Paul Slater, University of West Virginia helped m data analysis by providing several very useful computer programmes 1 owe a specific debt to Drs. Cox, Evans and Visvalmgam of the Department of Geography, University of Durham for reading and commenting on certain chapters of my thesis, and to fellow researchers Peter Bibby, Bill Donaldson, Donald Grassie and Bsam Nasr for their various contributions to my work.