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Moving Across Boundaries: Migration in South Africa, 1950–2000

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  • Holly Reed

Abstract

Existing knowledge about historical patterns of black internal migration in South Africa is incomplete, primarily because of the lack of good life course studies as well as the apartheid government’s suppression and censoring of data. This article provides a comprehensive picture of historical internal migration patterns with an analysis of a unique individual retrospective life history data set. This sample of the black population, collected in 2000, is the only known nationally representative life history data for South Africa; it includes all residential moves for each individual during his/her lifetime. Various mobility outcomes are analyzed: moves within/across provinces, moves within/across rural and urban areas, forced moves, moves with a nuclear family, and individual moves. The results indicate that migration significantly increased among black South Africans during the last half of the twentieth century, and that this increase began before the Pass Laws were repealed in 1986 and well before the official end of apartheid in 1991 or the first free election in 1994. The timing of this increase in migration rates suggests that migration in defiance of the Pass Laws (albeit a dangerous and desperate proposition) was a way of life for many black South Africans. Copyright Population Association of America 2013

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  • Holly Reed, 2013. "Moving Across Boundaries: Migration in South Africa, 1950–2000," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(1), pages 71-95, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:50:y:2013:i:1:p:71-95
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-012-0140-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Dinkelman, Taryn & Schulhofer-Wohl, Sam, 2015. "Migration, congestion externalities, and the evaluation of spatial investments," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 189-202.
    2. Dieter von Fintel & Eldridge Moses, 2017. "Migration and gender in South Africa: following bright lights and the fortunes of others?," Working Papers 09/2017, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics, revised 2018.
    3. Tyler W. Myroniuk & Michael J. White & Mark Gross & Rebecca Wang & Carren Ginsburg & Mark Collinson, 2018. "Does it Take a Village? Migration among Rural South African Youth," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 37(6), pages 1079-1108, December.
    4. 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.
    5. Philip Anglewicz & Mark VanLandingham & Lucinda Manda-Taylor & Hans-Peter Kohler, 2018. "Health Selection, Migration, and HIV Infection in Malawi," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(3), pages 979-1007, June.
    6. Sharp, Matthew, 2021. "The labour market impacts of female internal migration: Evidence from the end of Apartheid," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

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