Preliminary analysis of emigration dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa

Migration is so prominent in African history that several observers have concluded that it is a way of life for many Africans. Considerable migration has occurred historically throughout Africa in response to political, economic, religious and security situations, ethnic tensions, and demographic pressures. Patterns, directions, and motivations of migration have been severely affected by the colonial experience which, in turn, has influenced economic, sociocultural, political, and demographic development. Historical and political links between African and colonial countries initially facilitated migration toward the UK, France, Belgium, and later to the US, Canada, and Germany. Under a lengthy recession, however, these Western economies have severely restricted the flow of immigration. This paper discusses the data situation, the economic regime, the demographic regime, the political regime, the micro-macro context, the cultural regime, the ecological setting, political change and uncertainty in South Africa, the intra-African exchange of skilled manpower, and implementing the IOM/UNFPA project in sub-Saharan Africa.     

Agricultural policy and the organization of production in Sub-Saharan Africa

In spite of differences in development ideology between African countries, there is much similarity in their agricultural development policies, with output growth through increasing commercialization as the main policy objective. The common policy characteristics are identified and their effects on commercialization and organization of production are analyzed in order of the intensity of government intervention. This implies attention for respectively agro-industrial complexes, private estates, commercial peasant farms, various types of schemes, collective production units, and state farms. Although intensification of government intervention usually leads to higher costs and lower levels of production and productivity, the solution to Africa's present agricultural crisis is not so much the choice of one specific type of production unit, but rather the improvement of the general production environment as reflected in adequate producer price levels, reinvestment of creamed-off surpluses and an effective service apparatus, with the benefits of growth distributed over wide segments of the rural population.     

The influence of interviewer characteristics on support for democracy and political engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa*

This study investigates how an interviewer’s characteristics affect how respondents answer survey questions about democracy and political engagement. I analyze data from the 2008 Afrobarometer surveys, in which 810 interviewers surveyed 27,713 respondents across 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Using these data, I study how interviewer education, age, and gender affect two outcomes: (1) response distributions to attitudinal and behavioral survey questions and (2) the likelihood of respondents saying ‘don’t know’ to a survey question. The analysis also investigates how the respondent’s perception of who sponsored the survey (NGO, private sector, government) affects attitudes. The results show that these interviewer characteristics affect the quality of survey data on political attitudes and behaviors. In the discussion, I consider the implications for research based on public opinion data about democracy and political engagement.     

IOM/UNFPA project on emigration dynamics in developing countries

The author briefly reviews a special section of papers in this issue of International Migration. The papers focus on aspects of a project on emigration dynamics in developing countries.     

Female Relationships and Demographic Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines possible ways in which female relationships can affect demographic outcomes within the context of an extended family structure in sub-Saharan Africa. The level of collaboration and competition that exists among coresident women is likely to have an impact on fertility through changes in birth spacing and stopping behavior. In addition, the extent of collaboration could be a contributing factor in the survival chances of infants and young children. Given the multitude of ethnic groups found on the African continent, the paper also addresses the independent and interactive roles of culture. The paper ends with a discussion of theoretical and methodological implications for demographic research and suggestions for further study.     

Historicising Activism in Late Colonial and Post-Colonial Sub-Saharan Africa

Despite Africa's reputation as a place of political repression and limited popular agency, activism and popular mobilisation have been central to political change in colonial and post-colonial Africa. The social and cultural identity of activists has been neglected by historians, who have commonly studied activism through imposed normative frameworks (e.g. class struggle or decolonisation) that have not always been central to the motivations of activists themselves. This article identifies and analyses specific phases of popular activism. Mass mobilisation was crucial to the success of anti-colonial nationalism, but did not commonly result in governments that addressed the aspirations or grievances of activists. From the 1970s, African governments became vulnerable to popular pressure, in the form of urban riots and uprisings, but attempts to establish more institutionalised pressure groups for change were not generally successful. The pro-democracy movements of the early 1990s again utilised mass mobilisation to achieve their aims, but the advent of multi-party democracy across the continent did not translate into meaningful popular reform. Since 2000, popular movements have expressed discontent with neo-liberal economic policies and authoritarian governments. The Arab Spring has inspired new waves of activism, but it remains unclear whether this will bring about significant political change across the continent. Two underlying linked themes will be analysed in the paper. Firstly, the interaction between local activism and broader ideological movements and influences (nationalism, socialism, religious belief, etc): to what extent have these ideological frameworks, commonly introduced by external agents, assisted or hampered in the development of discourses of resistance or activism? Secondly, African activists, in contrast to their western counterparts, have commonly operated in relationship to both local state and western or international elites, including colonial governments, multinational corporations and international donors. The paper will examine the extent to which these relationships have shaped the ideas and behaviour of African movements.     

Municipal records in nineteenth century Dutch emigration research

Dutch emigrant registration records for the nineteenth century are examined in an effort to shed light on the local circumstances of the Dutch emigration movement. "Since nineteenth century emigration took place mostly through primary contacts this article will examine the newly established immigrant settlements as 'communities transplanted'...which directs our research to include local municipal records such as population censuses, population registers (which were supplemented after 1861 with registers of in- and out-migration), tax records, and records of vital events like marriage, birth and death registers. The quality and availability of these records vary from place to place, but generally speaking, in the case of the Netherlands, they are of high quality since population registration at the municipal level was required by law. The source of information for the local records are the population registers (Bevolkings Registers) which were originally constructed on the basis of information obtained from the 1850 population census...."     

Predictors of Capacity-Building Needs Among Nongovernmental Organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play important roles in social development in the Global South. However, little evidence exists concerning NGOs’ capacity-building needs. We sought to understand organizational and network factors that explain capacity-building needs. Using an online survey of 282 NGOs in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, we found high levels of capacity-building need, particularly concerning resource development. Using multivariate analyses, we found greater staff size predicted less overall capacity-building need based on a 15-item index (α = .88). Examining individual capacities, receiving at least half of funding from international sources and prior capacity-building assistance were consistent predictors of lower odds of capacity-building need.     

The reverse transfer of technology from Sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Zimbabwe

The article investigates the potential reverse transfer of technology (brain drain) from Zimbabwe, using as case study, academic staff at the main campus of the University of Zimbabwe.
A questionnaire survey was employed to separate all Zimbabwean academic staff into two groups: those who express an intention to emigrate in the near future (1-3 years) and those who express an intention to stay home.
The demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the two groups are discussed, as are the factors cited for dissatisfaction with conditions at the source (the institution and the country), potential destinations, and attractions ("pull" factors) at these destinations.
The study concludes that the decision to emigrate is based on an untidy combination of economic, cultural, social and geographic considerations.     

The use of happiness research for public policy

Research on happiness tends to follow a “benevolent dictator” approach where politicians pursue people’s happiness. This paper takes an antithetic approach based on the insights of public choice theory. First, we inquire how the results of happiness research may be used to improve the choice of institutions. Second, we show that the policy approach matters for the choice of research questions and the kind of knowledge happiness research aims to provide. Third, we emphasize that there is no shortcut to an optimal policy maximizing some happiness indicator or social welfare function since governments have an incentive to manipulate this indicator.     

An overview of present and future emigration dynamics in South Asia

The author presents preliminary findings on selected aspects of the dynamics which govern emigration from and within the South Asian region comprised of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The paper attempts to identify some of the major reasons for observed migration flows and how the future may be envisaged especially in view of government programs, policies, and priorities. Contract labor migration is given special attention since it has become the predominant type of migration in the region. Sections consider a possible conceptual framework; measuring emigration pressure or potential; data and data problems; the volume of emigration since 1970; South Asian migrant workers; macro-level determinants of emigration; community, family, and individual factors; and sending country policies. The consequences of emigration are discussed in terms of the impacts upon the labor force and non-economic consequences. Observations for the future conclude the paper. Analysis of the dynamics of emigration from South Asia indicate an urgent need to improve data on various forms of emigration, that relevant officials in countries of origin have a longstanding concern about the exploitation of workers in sending as well as receiving countries, and the need to better understand the linkages between various factors relevant to the emigration process. An understanding of such linkages would allow for more realistic policies and planning for future emigration.