A Window on Temporary Migration: Looking through Data from South Africa

Michael J. White , Brown University
Chantel Pheiffer, Brown University
Carren Ginsburg, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Temporary and circular migration are often distinct features of population distribution. Yet temporary migration often escapes conventional data-collection platforms, and hence, appears as a more nebulous concept in discussion. Empirical measurement and analysis of temporary migration thereby fall short of enlightening policymakers about its social and economic importance. Our work recognizes the challenge of capturing this fluidity of residence time and space. We take advantage of unique data from a cohort of young (18-40) rural-resident men and women in South Africa, for whom we have multiple waves of individual data on residence and migration. This survey, the Migrant Health Follow-Up Study, collected information not only on established “usual” residence, but also on temporary moves from that residence. We analyze the prevalence of temporary migration; the distribution of reasons cited for temporary migration; and the characteristics that predict engaging in temporary migration vs. permanent migration vs. remaining the rural origin.

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 Presented in Session 41. Flash session Internal Migration: temporalities, socio-economic and health outcomes