Migration internationale et conditions d'habitat des ménages à Dakar

In Senegal, the real estate sector drains the majority of investments made by Senegalese expatriates. Migrant remittances could thus play a positive role in improving the housing conditions of households in Dakar. This paper aims to test this hypothesis via a series of analyses conducted on data in Dakar for the MAFE Senegal survey. Not surprisingly, the first results show that at the time of the survey, the housing conditions of households with migrant(s) were generally better than those without (type of dwelling, persons per room, consumer durables, etc.). But subsequent findings qualify the impact of international migration on the living conditions of Dakarian households. First, the remittances sent by migrants are rarely used to build or renovate a dwelling. Second, analysis of home ownership at the time of entry into the dwelling and not at the time of the survey shows that migrants have no influence on home purchases. Last, emigrant investments in real estate rarely serve to improve the housing conditions of the households to which they belong. They can nonetheless contribute to urban renewal in Dakar, notably via investments in the rental market.