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Migration and Urbanisation in Francophone West Africa: An Overview of the Recent Empirical Evidence

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  • Cris Beauchemin

    (Département de démographie, Universite de Montreal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada, cris.beauchemin@umontreal.ca)

  • Philippe Bocquier

    (IRD (Institut de recherche pour le développement/French Institute for Research on Development), DIAI/CIPRE, 4 rue d'Enghien, 75010 Paris, France, bocquier@dial.prd.fr)

Abstract

How does migration contribute to the urbanisation process in Africa? Migrants have traditionally been viewed as responsible for excessive urban growth, for the uncontrolled expansion of urban areas and for urban surplus labour. In light of recent research, this article proposes to re-examine these views in Francophone west Africa. The first part of the article presents the context of urbanisation in this region, the theoretical framework and the recent surveys on which most of the analyses are based. Next, adopting a demographic perspective, the paper shows that migration in fact contributes moderately to urban growth and that new trends in urban to rural migration flows are emerging. The focus then shifts to examine how migrants influence the shape of cities. The final section of this article re-examines the role of migrants in the urban economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Cris Beauchemin & Philippe Bocquier, 2004. "Migration and Urbanisation in Francophone West Africa: An Overview of the Recent Empirical Evidence," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(11), pages 2245-2272, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:41:y:2004:i:11:p:2245-2272
    DOI: 10.1080/0042098042000268447
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Hans Hahn, 2010. "Urban Life-Worlds in Motion: In Africa and Beyond," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 45(3), pages 115-129.
    4. Philippe Bocquier & Ashira Menashe-Oren & Wanli Nie, 2023. "Migration’s contribution to the urban transition: Direct census estimates from Africa and Asia," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 48(24), pages 681-732.
    5. Kazianga, Harounan & Wahhaj, Zaki, 2020. "Will urban migrants formally insure their rural relatives? Family networks and rainfall index insurance in Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    6. Girsberger, Esther Mirjam & Méango, Romuald & Rapoport, Hillel, 2020. "Regional migration and wage inequality in the West African economic and monetary union," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 385-404.
    7. Owen Crankshaw & Jacqueline Borel-Saladin, 2019. "Causes of urbanisation and counter-urbanisation in Zambia: Natural population increase or migration?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(10), pages 2005-2020, August.
    8. Elisabeth Hyo-Chung Chung & Charlotte Guénard, 2012. "Mobilités, vulnérabilité et capital social: une analyse en milieu rural sénégalais," Working Papers DT/2012/16, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    9. Bolay, Matthieu, 2014. "When miners become “foreigners”: Competing categorizations within gold mining spaces in Guinea," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 117-127.
    10. Holly E. Reed & Catherine S. Andrzejewski & Michael White, 2010. "Men’s and women’s migration in coastal Ghana," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 22(25), pages 771-812.
    11. Camlin, Carol S. & Kwena, Zachary A. & Dworkin, Shari L. & Cohen, Craig R. & Bukusi, Elizabeth A., 2014. "“She mixes her business”: HIV transmission and acquisition risks among female migrants in western Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 146-156.
    12. Menashe-Oren, A. & Stecklov, G., 2017. "IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 17 - Population age structure and sex composition in sub-Saharan Africa: a rural-urban perspective," IFAD Research Series 280055, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
    13. Catalina Herrera Almanza & David E. Sahn, 2020. "Childhood determinants of internal youth migration in Senegal," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(45), pages 1335-1366.
    14. Ashira Menashe-Oren & David A. Sánchez-Páez, 2023. "Male Fertility and Internal Migration in Rural and Urban Sub-Saharan Africa," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 39(1), pages 1-40, December.
    15. Marchiori, Luca & Maystadt, Jean-François & Schumacher, Ingmar, 2012. "The impact of weather anomalies on migration in sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 355-374.
    16. Kusanthan Thankian, 2016. "Does Gender Matter in Migration: An Analysis of the Characteristics of Internal Migration in to Lusaka Province, Zambia," Journal of Social Economics, Research Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 3(1), pages 29-35.
    17. Lynda Pickbourn, 2018. "Rethinking Rural–Urban Migration and Women’s Empowerment in the Era of the SDGs: Lessons from Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    18. Carren Ginsburg & Philippe Bocquier & Donatien Beguy & Sulaimon Afolabi & Orvalho Augusto & Karim Derra & Frank Odhiambo & Mark Otiende & Abdramane B. Soura & Pascal Zabre & Michael White & Mark Colli, 2016. "Human capital on the move: Education as a determinant of internal migration in selected INDEPTH surveillance populations in Africa," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 34(30), pages 845-884.
    19. Bach Nguyen, 2022. "Internal migration and earnings: Do migrant entrepreneurs and migrant employees differ?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(4), pages 901-944, August.
    20. Shelley Clark & Cassandra Cotton, 2013. "Transitions to adulthood in urban Kenya," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 28(37), pages 1053-1092.
    21. Sharma, Susan Sunila, 2011. "Determinants of carbon dioxide emissions: Empirical evidence from 69 countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 376-382, January.
    22. Herrera-Almanza, Catalina & Sahn, David E., 2020. "Childhood Determinants of Internal Youth Migration in Senegal," IZA Discussion Papers 12988, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    23. Ashira Menashe-Oren, 2020. "Migrant-based youth bulges and social conflict in urban sub-Saharan Africa," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 42(3), pages 57-98.

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