Determinants of migration among rural youth throughout the world

Abstract

The decision of whether to migrate or not is one of several important decisions made by young men and women throughout the developing world. This paper uses panel data from five countries in Asia and Africa to examine the determinants of rural youth migration across five different countries, indirectly testing both broad and specific hypotheses related to migration. It finds that individual characteristics are more important determinants of migration than household or village characteristics. Further, it finds little evidence that credit constraints or relative deprivation are correlated with migration, holding other things constant. The difference between this result and those found in the literature regarding credit constraints implies credit constraints are geographically concentrated. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for migration influenced policy regarding youth, including the need for more and better migration data.