Survival or Accumulation: Migration and rural households in Burkina Faso

Migration plays an important role in development and as a strategy for poverty reduction. Burkina Faso, a country where conditions for agriculture are far from favourable, has a long history of migratory movement. Migration within West Africa (continental migration) has since long taken place in response to drought and low agricultural productivity. Migration to destinations outside the African continent and in particular to Western Europe (intercontinental migration) has become more important over the last decades for migrants from Burkina Faso. This study provides a quantitative analysis of the determinants and effects of migration for rural households in four villages on the Central Plateau of Burkina Faso. It sheds new light on the migration-remittances-development debate by analysing migration from a whole-household perspective combining determinants and consequences of migration; by including both the production and the consumption side of the rural household economy in an imperfect market environment; and by allowing for heterogeneity in migration through a distinction of two different migratory movements: continental and intercontinental migration. An extended farm household model that includes a migration component forms the basis of the econometric analysis of cross-section data from 223 households. Findings reveal that the two migratory movements are indeed different strategic decisions. Households with intercontinental migrants are able to overcome entry constraints that exist for this more lucrative (in terms of remittances) form of migration because of their wealth. In an imperfect market environment remittances from intercontinental migration help these households to overcome entry constraints existing for other activities and to greatly improve their welfare. Continental migrants appear to be pushed out due to insufficient land and consumption pressure. Loss of labour negatively influences income generated in labour-intensive activities and household welfare only slightly improves due to the migration induced reduction in household size.