Urbanization And International Migration From Africa

Climate change exacerbates desertification forcing millions of rural people to urbanize, especially in developing countries. Our quantitative analysis across African countries highlights migrants’ two typical sequential moves: i) people escape from villages to cities; ii) through cities’ enabling settings, some of them emigrate to developed countries. We find that: i) previous lower fresh water availability – our climate-related proxy – and drops in GDP’s agricultural share in Sub-Sahara seem to boost subsequent urbanization: ii) previously heightened urbanization subsequently inflates emigration rates. Thus, policies to combat land impoverishment/desertification would help both the environment and easing the stress that migration casts on societies’ balance.