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Leaving Home: Cumulative Climate Shocks and Migration in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Salvatore Falco

    (University of Geneva)

  • Anna B. Kis

    (Geneva Graduate Institute)

  • Martina Viarengo

    (Geneva Graduate Institute and Harvard University)

  • Utsoree Das

    (University of Geneva)

Abstract

We combine a multi-country household panel dataset with high-resolution gridded precipitation data to investigate how cumulative climatic shocks affects the decision to leave the households in five sub-Saharan African countries. We find that while the effect of recent adverse weather shocks is on average modest, the cumulative effect of a persistent exposure to droughts over several years leads to a significant increase in the probability for a household member to leave the household. We speculate that this pattern can be indicative of increased migratory flows due to increase in the frequency of extremes.

Suggested Citation

  • Salvatore Falco & Anna B. Kis & Martina Viarengo & Utsoree Das, 2024. "Leaving Home: Cumulative Climate Shocks and Migration in Sub-Saharan Africa," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(1), pages 321-345, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:87:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10640-023-00826-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-023-00826-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Barrios, Salvador & Bertinelli, Luisito & Strobl, Eric, 2006. "Climatic change and rural-urban migration: The case of sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 357-371, November.
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    3. Timothy J. Hatton & Jeffrey G. Williamson, 2003. "Demographic and Economic Pressure on Emigration out of Africa," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 105(3), pages 465-486, September.
    4. Clark Gray & Erika Wise, 2016. "Country-specific effects of climate variability on human migration," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 555-568, April.
    5. Andreas Backhaus & Inmaculada Martinez-Zarzoso & Chris Muris, 2015. "Do climate variations explain bilateral migration? A gravity model analysis," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Marchiori, Luca & Maystadt, Jean-François & Schumacher, Ingmar, 2012. "The impact of weather anomalies on migration in sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 355-374.
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    8. Henderson, J. Vernon & Storeygard, Adam & Deichmann, Uwe, 2017. "Has climate change driven urbanization in Africa?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 60-82.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate shocks; Rural–urban migration; Economic development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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