The Process of Rural-Urban
Migration in Developing Countries
by Machel McCatty
2.0 Causes of Rural-Urban Migration
2.1 Issues Faced in Rural Areas
Rural populations wittingly or unwittingly, have become a part of an economic system, which sees goods being farmed for the primary goal of supplying the urban markets. In many countries, rural areas supply the manual labor needed in many industries. Rural laborers generally have little education and are relegated to low paying jobs on plantations or in mines. This has provided the incentive for many who have migrated to the cities in search of opportunities for advancement. Rural populations experience the highs and lows of a global economy, for if the price of their crop drops, then their sustainability is affected. During recessions in the economy they are often among the first to lose their livelihoods. The cultural values and norms of the rural poor undergo severe changes when they come into contact with missionaries and foreign entities. Changes in the educational system results in what is taught in schools being different from traditional customs. In addition, they are exposed to radio programs, films, and more recently, television series produced in distant cities, some of which are half way across the globe.
Some rural areas when exposed to urbanization experienced a decline in their living conditions due to a high level of exploitation. In other areas certain groups couldn't cope with the change and were gradually impoverished, being unable to sustain themselves. However, for most rural inhabitants, living conditions changed for the better. With medical care becoming available to a larger number of persons, improvements in health and longevity were dramatic, a contributory factor to higher rates of population growth. The increased population caused a strain on the available land, made worse if it is communal land and there aren’t adequate property rights in place.
Another important issue faced by rural areas is the influence of the outside developed world on their culture and way of life. As time goes by and with the influence of media and the outside world, they become to recognize their state of poverty. People's wants change over time, and when they are being told they need certain things they begin to think that way, and many of these things may not be tangible for large portions of the populations.
People from rural areas may rise to positions of affluence that were previously thought to belong to other levels of the society. Rural inhabitants’ perception of a better life changes when observing the new success of the people from their communities, rural dwellers can then analyze how these people have achieved such positions, and hope to emulate their success. Rural inhabitants know what it takes to achieve the lives of wealth they have been exposed to. They know that a high school education or a University degree can lead to a much higher expected income, thereby increasing their future income. With more money they can increase their consumption.
Many people have firsthand accounts of the success that can be had in urban areas. Some manage to improve their living conditions by staying in the areas where they are born, others move to other rural areas as farmers, traders or manual laborers. In general the prospects of employment in rural areas aren't positive, while the urban areas seem more rewarding.
2.2 Migration Forces
Rural-urban migration can be ignited by voluntary forces or involuntary forces. Involuntary forces or forced migration is migration that takes place when the migrant has no choice whether or not to move. Examples include political strife, family disagreements, fighting with neighbors and wars. Voluntary movement covers all migration done by choice. There are many factors that cause voluntary rural-urban migration, such as urban job opportunities; housing conditions; rural land tenure and inheritance patterns; rural social structure and cultural values; among other factors.
Rural inhabitants see and hear success stories about people that leave their community and move to cities, which also act as incentives for out-migration. Incentives for outmigration may be distorted, thereby creating excessive urbanization. Therefore, rather than targeting the migration itself, it is preferable to focus on the causative factors. Rural inhabitants, when presented with options of earning a living other than from farming, and which may not be as demanding or are financially more rewarding than farming, are very likely to accept the change. Depending on the country, farming offers only seasonal employment, not providing sufficient income to sustain the family households for an entire year. In many developing countries, farming is not looked upon with as much respect as, for example, a low level white collar job in the city. For many, farming is seen as strenuous, back breaking work. Consequently, policies that do not provide rural inhabitants with viable economic alternatives will likely lead to migration, creating problems of over urbanization in the cities. As long as there is an income differential, people will always move to where there is a greater income.
2.3 Poverty and Lack of Opportunities in Rural Areas
Poverty is still one of the most serious problems in the world. Many existing development policies take poverty alleviation into consideration, which has led to much economic advancement. It is estimated that over 1 billion people in the world still live in poverty. In the developing world, urban poverty is persistent, with the majority of the poor living in rural areas, hence it is in these areas that poverty alleviation policies should be concentrated.
The most valid assumptions when generalizing about the poor in rural areas, is that they are dispersed all over the poor regions. Among minority groups and indigenous peoples, women, (whether or not they are housewives), and children account for the larger percentage.Data collected from a number of surveys support these generalizations. According to (Todaro p.229), about two thirds of the poor in rural areasget by and sustain their lives with subsistence farming either as small farmers or working on land owned by other people. The other third are engaged in small scale activities. Poverty profiles for developing countries characterize the poor as being agricultural households with little arable land. In an agricultural based economy, where poor residents lack access to resources and there is a high level of inequality and an inequitable distribution of assets, non-farm labor becomes an important source of income for the poor. Especially in the cases of small farmers and non land owners who account for the majority of agricultural laborers, there is a heavy dependence on the rural labor markets for a huge portion of their incomes. How the rural labor market functions and the wages being offered, have an important impact on the state of poverty in all countries of the developing world.
2.4 Urban Job Opportunities
According to the Todaro model, rural migrants may not find employment immediately upon arrival in the city, and when they do, there is a high likelihood that their wages will be lower than they expected, resulting in lower than expected income. Educated and skilled immigrants may not have to wait as long as unskilled migrants to find jobs, since often their skills are in demand in the urban sector. However, migration of skilled personnel is a further reflection of inadequate policies as this further weakens the potential of rural areas to develop.
Many factors influence people's decisions to relocate to urban areas. As empirical research has shown, a disproportional number of these migrants are young adults, all of whom move to the cities for various, albeit mostly economic reasons. Empirical studies have documented that the majority of migrants to cities are young and have higher levels of education. They migrate because they have longer prospects of earnings and their probability of getting hired in the urban areas is higher.
Employment in urban areas can fall under two broad categories, firstly the formal sector and secondly the informal sector. The formal sector characterizes all activities that are recognized by the government as being legal in nature and providing tax revenue. Traditional occupations such as banking, office clerks, and plumbing would fall under this category. These jobs tend to pay more than jobs in the informal sector, and they garner a greater deal of respect. Many migrants who move to cities would like to obtain a job in the formal sector, but find it difficult to do so. They need to have a certain level of education to be able to compete with the urban residents for these jobs. Worker productivity and income tend to be higher in the formal sector than the informal sector. Workers in the formal sector enjoy job security, proper working conditions and
retirement pensions. The second category, the urban informal sector will be discussed in
more detail below.
2.5 Urban Informal Sector
The urban informal sector, unlike its formal counterpart, includes all activities that are unregulated and small scale in nature. Not much attention was given to this unregulated, unorganized and mostly illegal sector till the 1970s. Observations were made in several developing countries that certain labor market activities failed to show up in statistics relevant in the formal modern sector. The majority of the new workers in the urban labor force seemed to create their own employment and start their own businesses, or work for small-scale family run enterprises. The self-employed were engaged in a variety of activities such as hustling, street vending, knife sharpening, prostitution, selling drugs and selling fireworks. Other migrants found jobs as barbers, carpenters, mechanics, maids, personal servants and artisans. Others managed to become successful entrepreneurs with several employees making high incomes.
After some time, some graduated to the formal sector where they are subject to government labor regulations by becoming legally registered and licensed. According to Todaro, studies reveal that the share of the urban labor force engaged in informal sector activities is growing and now ranges from 30% to 70%, the average being around 50%.
The majority of the workers entering the informal sector are recent rural migrants who are unable to find jobs in the formal sector. Their main reason for taking part in the informal sector is to use what little skills they have to earn enough income to sustain their daily lives. As mentioned before, urban informal sector activities can be labor intensive, the labor coming from every member of the household that is able to work. They work 13very long hours, sometimes making it difficult for the children to attend school regularly.
The informal sector is connected to the formal sector, since it provides opportunities for people who are unable to find employment in the formal sector. While it serves as a conduit for excess labor to escape poverty and unemployment, depending on the developing country in question, wages in the informal sector are not much better than rural wages. Although living conditions and working conditions may not be better than in the rural areas, the informal sector wages have remained higher than the wages in the poorest rural areas. Migrants interested in getting employment in the formal sector, find the informal sector as a safety net to fall back on if things do not work out for them. The informal sector is therefore seen as a cause of rural-urban migration, because it lowers the risk of the individual being unemployed once they move to the cities.
2.6 Government Policies Creating Urban Bias
Another cause of rural-urban migration is urban bias. Government policies supporting disproportionate increases in wage rates and employment opportunities in the urban areas contribute to imbalances in the rural urban landscape. This topic will be analyzed in greater detail later in the paper.
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