2

Understanding rural-urban migration in the Philippines, however, requires going beyond census definitions and simple dichotomies. In the Philippines, urban areas are defined as all settlements with at least 1,000 inhabitants, a population density of at least 500 persons per square kilometer, essential infrastructure, and where nonagricultural occupations prevail (Philippine National Statistics Office 2003). Poblaciones are the administrative seats of the municipality (the rural administrative district) or town (which may be classified as urban or rural depending on certain criteria). Even though all poblaciones are in fact population centers, only those poblaciones that have a population density of at least 500 persons per square kilometer and essential infrastructure are classified as urban, even if they are surrounded by predominantly rural areas. Using census definitions, moving to a poblacion may be classified as migration to an urban area, even if it is not very far from the individual’s rural origin. In this study, allowing migrants to define the nature of their destination locality—whether rural, poblacion, or urban—provides additional insights into the rural-urban continuum. What determines the decision to migrate, and given that decision, the choice of a migrant’s destination? The recent literature on migration in developing countries has increasingly paid attention to the effects of familial and social factors on migration.4 Whereas the early literature on migration typically posed the decision in terms of the costs and benefits to the individual migrant (e.g., Sjaastad 1962), more recent studies emphasize the role of migration as a family strategy. Policymakers are also paying more attention to the role of small towns and peri–urban areas as migrant destinations (Satterthwaite and Tacoli 2003). In-migration from rural areas to small and intermediate- sized urban centers could increase local opportunities for income diversification as well as decrease pressure on larger national urban centers. It is obvious that rural areas, poblaciones, and urban areas offer different opportunities to migrants. Do these various destinations systematically attract different types of migrants? What kinds of individuals are more likely to move to rural areas, as

4 See Lucas (1997) for a review of the literature on internal migration, and Stark (1991) for a discussion of migration as a family, rather than a purely individual, decision.