Household migration decisions as survival strategy: The case of Burkina Faso

This article examines the motivations behind the important migration from Burkina Faso to Cote d'Ivoire, the economic pole in the West African Economic and Monetary Union. This article uses a detailed household survey data set on migration, natural resource management, risk management and solidarity collected in 2000 and 2002 in northeastern Burkina Faso. In addition to the household survey, two other village and institutional level surveys were conducted. The methodology emphasises the linkage between economic theories and empirical evidence, using econometric tools that are robust both to the selection and standard error bias. It enables to study the specificities of the seasonal migration and estimate migration incomes. The structural model of migration decision revealed the importance of migration as a unique survival strategy in the study regions confronted with severe scarcity of natural resources. Results supported that even under the pessimistic scenario where the direct benefits of the regional integration programme would go exclusively to the polar economy, households in the Sahel may still benefit from an increased economic attractiveness of this destination. Therefore, the study recommended enforcing regional laws as regards to the free movement of labour.