Are remittances determined by altruism or enlightened self-interest, and do they trigger additional migration? In this paper these two questions are examined empirically in relation to data from Egypt, Turkey, and Morocco for households with family members living abroad. It is shown, firstly, that one cannot argue exclusively either for altruism or self-interest as motives, since for each country the data tell a different story and both motives can be identified as driving forces behind remittance behaviour. The general conclusion of this study is that the family ties and the net earnings potential of migrants have stronger effects on the flow of remittances than the net earnings potential of the households in the country of origin. Secondly, because the receipt of remittances has a positive effect on the emigration intentions of household members still living in the country of origin, the receipt of remittances may contribute to new flows of migration, particularly in the case of Morocco.

Abstract.Who intends to leave Africa and what drives the pressure to emigrate? For four African countries (Ghana, Senegal, Morocco and Egypt) we evaluate the strength of push and pull factors in stating emigration intentions 'out of Africa'. In general, one can say that the typical potential migrant is young, male, optimistic about attaining a higher living standard and finding a job and having relatively modern values compared to those who intend to stay. Classical push factors like unemployment and poverty are present in most countries. The most notable finding is extent with which the optimism surrounding the net benefits of migration drives emigration intentions out of Africa, especially in Ghana and Senegal. Besides this general observation, each and every country tells a different story. Signs of positive self-selection with respect to the level of education of potential migrants are clearly present in Ghana and Egypt, especially among women. However, negative self-selection applies to the case of Moroccan men. The network effects of potential migrants turn out to be of some importance in Ghana and Egypt. However, in Senegal and Morocco such ties are apparently not as important as one might expect from studies of actual migration behaviour. In Morocco the prevailing migration culture offers a plausible explanation and in Senegal the high frequency of migration in regions with an established migration history offers some of the services that network ties might offer.JEL classification: F22, O52, P2

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Psychosocial factors influencing behaviour play a central role in health research but seem under-explored in migration research. This is unfortunate because these factors, which include knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, intentions and personality traits, provide essential and potentially effective handles for linking migration and migrant-integration policies. We demonstrate that the health belief model (HBM) conceptualization of behavioural intentions contributes constructs that can further our understanding of migration intentions, thereby broadening the foundations for migration policies. We adapt the HBM to migration behaviour and then test it empirically by using survey data on international migration from West Africa and the Mediterranean region to the European Union. The results confirm that indicators of "perceived threat to living conditions", "perceived benefits" and "perceived barriers to migration", "cues to action" and "self-efficacy" contribute considerably to the explanation of migration intentions. We conclude that psychosocial factors deserve greater prominence in migration theories and empirical research, and we recommend that migration surveys consider this framework to identify relevant indicators of psychosocial factors of international migration and develop appropriate survey questions to measure them.

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