Childhood Determinants of Internal Youth Migration in Senegal

Catalina Herrera, Northeastern University
David E. Sahn, Cornell University and University of Auvergne

We analyze the childhood socio-economic determinants of youth decision to internally migrate in Senegal. Young people undertake mostly rural-to-rural and urban-to-urban migrations and over half of them are temporary migrants. Using multinomial logit models and a unique household survey in Senegal, we estimate the role of household and community characteristics during childhood in later youth migration decisions. We find that these determinants are heterogeneous by gender and destination. The higher the fathers’ education the more (less) likely are their daughters to move to urban (rural) areas. Young individuals, who spend their childhood in better off households, are more likely to move to urban areas. Also, the presence of younger siblings during childhood increases the propensity of moving to rural areas. Access to primary schools in the childhood residence decreases the likelihood of migrating to urban areas for both men and women.