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World Bank Document The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not . necessarily reflect those of the Public Disclosure Authorized World Bank or the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Develop- ment. This paper is a draft for discussion. Please do not cite any part of it without the author's permission. Population and Eian Resources Division is cuss ion Paper No. 81-36 Public Disclosure Authorized PERSPECTIVES ON ?OPLWTLON MOBILITY IN WEST AFRICA August 1981 Public Disclosure Authorized * R. Yansell Pro thero, Consul taut, DEDPH Public Disclosure Authorized The Xor1.d 3ank kashington, D.C. 20433 U.S.A. - ii - ABSTRACT This paper attempts to review the present status of the study of the determinants and consequences of &st African migration. It discusses varied definitional problems relating to mobility, as well as the theoretical ap- proaches taken by students in different fields af study. It presents and critiques the broad trends of migration behavior which have been described by diverse authors, The study details some of the primary sources of data on the migration topic and the institutions responsible. It suggests other important perspec- tives on migration which appear to have been infrequently treated (historical, legal, socio-psychological, and ecological). The advantages and disadvantages of different types of data collection are weighed (census/survey, cross- sectional/longitudinal), and the need for on-going monitoring of. the various forms of mobility is underscored in order to relate important trends to national development planning. .iii . TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Number Preface .............................. 1 Acknowledgments .......................... 4 Types of Xovement ......................... 5 Descriptive Typology ..................... 6 Conclusion .......................... 10 Approaches to the Study of Xobility in West Africa ................... 11 The Colonial Period to 1950.................. 11 Colonialism to Independence Recent Developments. 1970-80 ................. 15 Theory and Practice Relating to Mobility ........................... 18 Sociological Perspectives ................... 19 Economic Perspectives ..................... 22 Political Economy Perspectives ................ 25 Geographical and Historical Perspectives ........... 28 West Africa: Environment and Development .............. 33 . I Environment ........................... 33 Development... ......................... 37 HistGrical Continuity in Dexelopment. Studies ..................... 42 !@ Rural-Rural Mobility ........................ 46 Rural-Rural Yovements in Senegal .......................... 49 Table of Contents. Continued Page Number Access to Land ......................... 50 Xobility and an "Alternative Opportunity" Framework ................... 53 Rural-Urban Mobility ....................... 59 Concept ............................ 62 Examples ........................... 64 Step-wise Novement and the .................. 68 Urban Hierarchy Rural-Urban Links ...................... 71 Longitudinal Studies of Xobility ................. 74 Longitudinal Perspectives................... 74 Anthropological ...................... 75 Economic .......................... 76 Geographical ........................ 76 C r Demographic ................; ........ 76 Tracerstudies ....................'. .. 77 Retrospective Studies ................... 79 Multiple-round Surveys ................... 60 Data ............................. 83 L . I Sample Structure ....................... 84 MigrationProcess ........................ 85 i . Conclusion ............? .............. 87 5 Conclusion .............................. 89 !E Bibliography ............................ 96 List of Population and Human Resources Division Discussioa &Qers ................. 111 LIST OF FIGUXES Page Number Figure 1. Population Mobility in Africa ............. 9 Figure 2. Flows Associated with Population. ............ 55 Mobility Figure 3. The Opportunity Structure of Farmers in Northern Rano (Schematic) .................. 57 Figure 4. A System Schema for a Theory of Rural-Urban Wgration .............. 60 Figure 5. Mobility Paths. .................... 73 PREFACE This paper originated from discussions at the O.E.C.D./Thrld Bank seminar in Ouagadougou,Upper ?ol.ta, in January 1979, which considered the demographic studies of migration in West Africa undertaken-by Zaahariah and his associates in 1975/78. The conference participants -rho represented the statistical and planning offices of many West African governments and the research branches of many universities and internktional institutions--asked that a study regarding the determinants and consequences of migration in the region be undertaken along with the demographic analyses. These latter had concentrated on the collation of basic macro data, mainly from cqnsuses but also from some surveys, to establish and-delineate the volume, flows, and basic characteristics of both international and internal migrants in West Africa. The demographic survey made references to determinants and conse- quences of migration only in the broadest terms. There was a necessarily limited reference to relationships between theory and practice iq studies of mobility, which must be considered in interpreting and understanding the demographic evidence. An immense.amount of research and comment has accumulated &n recent decades from a aultitude of studies, undertaken at various times and places for various reasons, by various individuals and organizations representi% various disciplines and interests. The material is- disparate and divergent in character, diffuse and sometimes fugitive in avwlability, and not easily I assisilated. This paper reviews, collates and synthesizes some of this material. It is intended to complement Zachariah's study. Xo attempt is made to deal vith evidence of deteminants and consequences in a conventional - 2 - systezatic fashion. It attempts to provide broad perspectives and to indicate particular aspects to which liniced attention has been given and on which more is required. "Nigrationl' is of ten used to refer to all types of movements of population from one place to another over varying distances for varying periods of time, for a variety of reasons and with various consequences. In reality zany different types of rnovement must be recognized which may differ from one another but nay not be discrete and are often closely related. Failure to recognize varizty and differences is manifest in much of the work on and discussion of population movements. In this review 'hobility" is used as an umbrella term to include "nigration", a term which should be used to describe certain but not all types of movement. In the literature in general there has been implicit and explicit stressing of movements which involve perinanent re-distribution of population. It has been argued (e.g. hin 1974) that in West Africa permanent movements increasingly are replacing temporary movenents in iiilportance. Insufficient attention is being given to the temporary movements which continuk and to the links with their places of origin which are maintained by those who might be thought to have moved pemanently . The paper suggests the need to rectify the overstress that there t I has been on rural-urban movements with the neglect of rural-rural movements. 30th Yap- (1975) and Todaro (1976) in reviews of "internal migration" in i develop+g countries have Seen concerned almost zntirely with the forner, P though + a footnote Yap points out tl-at where overall data are available they * show tha& rural-urban nigration represents oniy a minor elemert in total internal nigration within countrfes. Processes of mobility are explained largely in term of economic factors: by Yap and Todaro with totally inadequate attention given to other factor:; - social, political and psychological. Noreover the evidence on processes which is considered is derived for the most part from cross-sectional studies: relating to limited periods of time. Yet the phenomena for which explanations are being sought are dynamic and constantly changing. Better understanding and explanation of the processes underlying mobility, on which better policy decisions nay then be based, will only be forthcoming when more resources are directed to exaniniq factors other than economic and when these and economic factors are considered in longitudinal studies over time. In this paper a basic 'mowledge is assumed of the general nature and functions of population movement in less-developed countries in general, and in Mrica south of the Sahara and in West Africa io particular. References are given to relevant standard works and separately a bibliography of some 600 items on mobility in West Mrica has been compiled. The intention in this paper is to be practical, and suggestions are made as to where efforc and resources might be concentrated in future studies. For those who move the realities of life are always practical, both in the places from which they originate and those to which they go. These s olve success and ure, they may be' sti frustrating, ' I * . ..... necessary sinply i to survive. This study was sponsored by the World aank as part of a joint research project with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development regarding the demographic aspects of nigration in West Africa. !-fy findirgs in this work have depended to a iai'ge extent on the research of others, to which reference is mcde in the text. I wish to thank particularly my colleague, W.T.S. Gould, witti
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