IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/urbstu/v41y2004i11p2245-2272.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • 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
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/0042098042000268447
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/0042098042000268447?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Catherine Faussey-Domalain & Patrice Vimard, 1991. "Agriculture de rente et démographie dans le Sud-Est ivoirien. Une économie villageoise assistée en milieu forestier péri-urbain," Revue Tiers Monde, Programme National Persée, vol. 32(125), pages 93-114.
    2. Gugler, Josef, 1991. "Life in a dual system revisited: Urban-rural ties in Enugu, Nigeria, 1961-87," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 399-409, May.
    3. Kannappan, Subbiah, 1988. "Urban Labor Markets and Development," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 3(2), pages 189-206, July.
    4. Cohen, Barney, 2004. "Urban Growth in Developing Countries: A Review of Current Trends and a Caution Regarding Existing Forecasts," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 23-51, January.
    5. Banerjee, Biswajit & Bucci, Gabriella A, 1995. "On-the-Job Search in a Developing Country: An Analysis Based on Indian Data on Migrants," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(3), pages 565-583, April.
    6. Deborah Potts, 2000. "Urban Unemployment and Migrants in Africa: Evidence from Harare 1985–1994," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 31(4), pages 879-910, September.
    7. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4744 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Ledent, Jacques, 1982. "Rural-Urban Migration, Urbanization, and Economic Development," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(3), pages 507-538, April.
    9. Davis, James C. & Henderson, J. Vernon, 2003. "Evidence on the political economy of the urbanization process," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 98-125, January.
    10. Bigsten, Arne, 1996. "The Circular Migration of Smallholders in Kenya," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 5(1), pages 1-20, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Isabelle Chort & Philippe De Vreyer & Thomas Zuber, 2017. "Gendered internal migration patterns in Senegal," Working Papers DT/2017/02, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    2. Isabelle Chort & Philippe De Vreyer & Thomas Zuber, 2017. "Gendered internal migration patterns in Senegal," Working Papers DT/2017/02, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    3. Ronald O. Muchelo & Thomas F. A. Bishop & Sabastine U. Ugbaje & Stephen I. C. Akpa, 2024. "Patterns of Urban Sprawl and Agricultural Land Loss in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Cases of the Ugandan Cities of Kampala and Mbarara," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-23, July.
    4. 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).
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. 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).
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. Sharma, Susan Sunila, 2011. "Determinants of carbon dioxide emissions: Empirical evidence from 69 countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 376-382, January.
    16. Herrera-Almanza, Catalina & Sahn, David E., 2020. "Childhood Determinants of Internal Youth Migration in Senegal," IZA Discussion Papers 12988, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. 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.
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. Bolay, Matthieu, 2014. "When miners become “foreigners”: Competing categorizations within gold mining spaces in Guinea," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 117-127.
    21. 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).
    22. 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.
    23. 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.
    24. 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.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tie-Ying Liu & Chi-Wei Su & Xu-Zhao Jiang, 2016. "Is China’S Urbanization Convergent?," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 61(05), pages 1-18, December.
    2. David E. Bloom & David Canning & Günther Fink & Tarun Khanna & Patrick Salyer, 2007. "Urban Settlement: Data, Measures, and Trends," PGDA Working Papers 2907, Program on the Global Demography of Aging.
    3. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4463 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Potts, Deborah, 2012. "Challenging the Myths of Urban Dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Evidence from Nigeria," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 1382-1393.
    5. Philippe Bocquier, 2005. "World Urbanization Prospects," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 12(9), pages 197-236.
    6. David E. Bloom & David Canning & Günther Fink & Tarun Khanna & Patrick Salyer, 2007. "Urban Settlement: Data, Measures, and Trends," PGDA Working Papers 2907, Program on the Global Demography of Aging.
    7. Pierre‐Richard Agénor, 2004. "Macroeconomic Adjustment and the Poor: Analytical Issues and Cross‐Country Evidence," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 351-408, July.
    8. Wang, Bo & Li, Fan & Feng, Shuyi & Shen, Tong, 2020. "Transfer of development rights, farmland preservation, and economic growth: a case study of Chongqing’s land quotas trading program," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    9. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9ocq36eaai is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Zhen Yang & Jun Lei & Jian-Gang Li, 2019. "Identifying the Determinants of Urbanization in Prefecture-Level Cities in China: A Quantitative Analysis Based on Spatial Production Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, February.
    11. Dusan Paredes Araya & Tomothy M Komarek, 2013. "Spatial Income Inequality in Chile and the Rol of Spatial Labor Sorting," Documentos de Trabajo en Economia y Ciencia Regional 46, Universidad Catolica del Norte, Chile, Department of Economics, revised Apr 2013.
    12. Yan Yan & Hui Liu & Ningcheng Wang & Shenjun Yao, 2021. "How Does Low-Density Urbanization Reduce the Financial Sustainability of Chinese Cities? A Debt Perspective," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, September.
    13. P R Agénor, 2005. "The Analytics of Segmented Labor Markets," Centre for Growth and Business Cycle Research Discussion Paper Series 52, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    14. Ulep, Valerie Gilbert T. & Ortiz, Danica Aisa P. & Go, John Juliard & Duante, Charmaine & Gonzales, Rosa C. & Mendoza, Laurita R. & Reyes, Clarissa & Elgo, Frances Rose & Aldeon, Melanie P., 2012. "Inequities in Noncommunicable Diseases," Discussion Papers DP 2012-04, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    15. Guangliang Yang & Lixing Li & Shihe Fu, 2020. "Do rural migrants benefit from labor market agglomeration economies? Evidence from Chinese cities," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 910-931, September.
    16. José Renato Barandier & Milena Bodmer & Izabella Lentino, 2017. "Evidence of the impacts of the national housing programme on the accessibility of the low‐income population in Rio de Janeiro," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(2), pages 105-118, May.
    17. Dasgupta, Basab & Lall, Somik V. & Lozano-Gracia, Nancy, 2014. "Urbanization and housing investment," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7110, The World Bank.
    18. Donatien Beguy & Philippe Bocquier & Eliya Msiyaphazi Zulu, 2010. "Circular migration patterns and determinants in Nairobi slum settlements," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 23(20), pages 549-586.
    19. Poelhekke, Steven, 2011. "Urban growth and uninsured rural risk: Booming towns in bust times," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 461-475, November.
    20. Jedwab, Remi & Vollrath, Dietrich, 2015. "Urbanization without growth in historical perspective," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-21.
    21. Sean Fox & Robin Bloch & Jose Monroy, 2018. "Understanding the dynamics of Nigeria’s urban transition: A refutation of the ‘stalled urbanisation’ hypothesis," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(5), pages 947-964, April.
    22. Philippe Bocquier, 2004. "World Urbanization Prospects : an alternative to the UN model of projection compatible with urban transition theory," Working Papers DT/2004/08, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:41:y:2004:i:11:p:2245-2272. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/urbanstudiesjournal .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.