Climate Anomalies and International Migration : A Disaggregated Analysis for West Africa
Migration is one of the channels West African populations can use to adjust to the negative impacts of climate change. Using novel geo-referenced and high- frequency data, this study investigates the extent to which soil moisture anomalies drive in...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/906611621275380661/Climate-Anomalies-and-International-Migration-A-Disaggregated-Analysis-for-West-Africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35612 |
| Summary: | Migration is one of the channels West
African populations can use to adjust to the negative
impacts of climate change. Using novel geo-referenced and
high- frequency data, this study investigates the extent to
which soil moisture anomalies drive international migration
decisions within the region and toward Europe. The findings
show that drier soil conditions decrease (rather than
increase) the probability to migrate. A standard deviation
decrease in soil moisture leads to a 2 percentage point drop
in the probability to migrate, equivalent to a 25 percent
decrease in the number of migrants. This effect is
concentrated during the crop-growing season and likely
driven by financial constraints. The effect is only seen for
areas that are in the middle of the income distribution,
with no impact on the poorest or richest areas of a country,
suggesting that the former were constrained to start and the
latter can address those financial constraints. |
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