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Migration and urbanisation in Post-Apartheid South Africa

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  • Ferdinand Rauch
  • Christopher Parsons

Abstract

Under apartheid, black South Africans were severely restricted in their choice of location and many were forced to live in homelands. Following the abolition of apartheid they were free to migrate. Given gravity, a town nearer to the homelands can be expected to receive a larger inflow of people than a more distant town following the removal of mobility restrictions. Exploting this exogenous variation, we study the effect of migration on urbanisation and the distribution of population. In particular, we test if migration inflows led to displacement, path dependence, or agglomeration in destination areas. We find evidence for path dependence in the aggregate, but substantial heterogeneity across town densities. An exogenous population shock leads to an increase of the urban relative to the rural population, which suggests that exogenous migration shocks can foster urbanisation in the medium run.

Suggested Citation

  • Ferdinand Rauch & Christopher Parsons, 2016. "Migration and urbanisation in Post-Apartheid South Africa," Economics Series Working Papers 800, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:oxf:wpaper:800
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Wyrwich, 2020. "Migration restrictions and long-term regional development: evidence from large-scale expulsions of Germans after World War II [The consequences of radical reform: the French revolution]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(2), pages 481-507.
    2. Sharp, Matthew, 2021. "The labour market impacts of female internal migration: Evidence from the end of Apartheid," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    3. Ferdinand Rauch & Kristiina Tuomikoski, 2019. "The distance elasticity at short distances - A study of the library choice of Oxford students," Economics Series Working Papers 865, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    4. Emran, M. Shahe & Shilpi, Forhad & Coulombe, Harold & Blankespoor, Brian, 2019. "Temporary Trade Shocks, Spatial Reallocation, and Persistence in Developing Countries: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in West Africa," MPRA Paper 94598, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Lin, Jeffrey & Rauch, Ferdinand, 2022. "What future for history dependence in spatial economics?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    6. Bedasso Biniam E. & Jaupart Pascal, 2020. "South-South migration and elections: evidence from post-apartheid South Africa," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-47, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic geography; migration; urbanisation; natural experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • N97 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - Africa; Oceania
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure

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