Income Expectations, Rural-Urban Migration and Employment in Africa
Author(s)
Todaro, Michael
Abstract
In a few short years since independence, the nations of tropical Africa have experienced an unprecedented increase in the size of their urban populations. By far the most important contributing factor has been the massive increase in the number of migrants arriving from surrounding rural areas. A study examines the relationship between migration, expected income differentials, and urban employment in tropical Africa. A theoretical model of rural-urban migration is presented which places primary emphasis on the economic motivations for migration. This analytical framework is then used to examine and evaluate alternative short- and long-term policies designed to curtail the massive influx of rural migrants and to alleviate the concomitant growing unemployment problem in urban Africa.
