Migration and the Transition to Adulthood in Contemporary Malawi
In many African countries, the timing of important life events -- such as school-leaving, first marriage, and entry into the labor market -- is thought to be strongly tied to migration. This paper investigates the relationship between major life ev...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/09/16741034/migration-transition-adulthood-contemporary-malawi http://hdl.handle.net/10986/12044 |
| Summary: | In many African countries, the timing of
important life events -- such as school-leaving, first
marriage, and entry into the labor market -- is thought to
be strongly tied to migration. This paper investigates the
relationship between major life events, household
characteristics, and migration among adolescents and young
adults in contemporary Malawi. The specific research
questions are twofold. First, what are the socio-economic
and demographic determinants of migration? Second, how do
school attendance, first marriage, and employment-seeking
relate to migration patterns? The study uses panel data
collected from a survey designed specifically to explore
socioeconomic and demographic aspects of youth transitions
to adulthood and which tracked respondents as they moved to
new dwellings. Among the sample, they find that moves are
not uncommon, and the predominant reasons for moves are
non-economic. Although historically ethnic traditions in
this area have held that girls and women usually did not
move upon marrying, the data show that women were more
likely to move between survey rounds than boys and men, and
that marriage was the main reason for doing so. Closer ties
to the head of the household are associated with less
movement for both women and men. |
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