Internal Migration in Egypt : Levels, Determinants, Wages, and Likelihood of Employment

Herrera, Santiago ; Badr, Karim

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: AGRICULTURAL WORKERS;    CARE FOR CHILDREN;    CITIES;    COMMUTING;    DEVELOPMENT POLICY;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-6166
RP-ID  :  WPS6166

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper describes stylized factsabout internal migration and the labor force in Egypt, andshows how internal migration in the country is low comparedwith international standards. Using aggregate labor forcesurvey data, the paper shows how individuals migrate togovernorates with higher wages. With a Mincerian equation,the analysis finds that migrants earn premiums with respectto non-migrants, except for those migrants with loweducation levels. The aggregate labor statistics reveallower unemployment rates among migrants, a phenomenon thatis verified by an employment equation. According to theeconometric results, migrants are more likely to beemployed, even after controlling for other observableindividual characteristics.Finally, the paper estimates aProbit model for the decision to migrate, finding that moreeducated individuals are more likely to migrate,agricultural workers have a lower probability of migrating,and individuals from governorates in which food productionfor own consumption is higher are less likely to migrate.These results suggest that low educational attainment andthe "food problem", which ties resources to foodproduction to meet subsistence requirements, are at the rootof low migration in Egypt.