Rural Out-migration in the Drought Prone Areas of Ethiopia: A Multilevel Analysis

TLDR

The study analyzes rural out‑migration in Ethiopia from 1984 to 1994 using a multilevel approach. Discrete‑time hazard models applied to a recent household survey in drought‑prone Ethiopian rural areas assess how individual, household, and community factors influence migration. Rural out‑migration in drought‑prone Ethiopia is driven by individual, household, and community characteristics, with limited schooling mobility, marriage‑driven moves—especially for women—and pronounced period effects over 1984–1994.

Abstract

This article presents a multilevel analysis of rural out-migration in Ethiopia over the 1984–1994 period. Using a recent household survey carried out in the drought prone rural areas of Ethiopia, discrete-time hazard models are used to examine the impact of individual, household and community factors on migration. Incorporating a life-course and the “new economics of migration” perspectives, our findings suggest that rural out-migration in these areas can be viewed as a function of individual, household and community characteristics. We find that mobility of people for schooling in the impoverished rural communities is minimal. Migration of both sexes was possible mainly through marriage, although females tend to depart their residences more than males. Our findings also reveal substantial period effects on out-migration trends.