IFAD Research Series 55 Rural Youth: Determinants of Migration throughout the World

Abstract

The decision of whether to migrate or not is one of many potentially important decisions that young men and women make throughout the developing world. This paper takes a unique look at the determinants of youth migration across seven different countries using recently collected data, indirectly testing both broad and specific hypotheses related to migration. The paper finds that individual characteristics are more important determinants of migration than household characteristics. Furthermore, it finds little evidence that credit constraints or relative deprivation are correlated with migration at a nationally representative level, holding other things constant. The difference between this result and those found in the literature regarding credit constraints implies that credit constraints are geographically concentrated. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for migration-influenced policy regarding youth.