Rural–Urban Migration and Cross-National Variation in Infant Mortality in Less Developed Countries

Abstract

Infant mortality, Cross-national variation, Complementary log–log models, Less developed countries, Multilevel modeling, Rural–urban migration,

Maternal migration and child health: An analysis of disruption and adaptation processes in Benin

“…Additionally, the child health advantages associated with migration appear to accumulate as the duration of women’s residence in the destination community lengthens prior to their giving birth. This finding stands in contrast to recent evidence that some migrants in low-income countries live in unfavorable conditions that increase their children’s mortality risk as their duration of residence lengthens (Omariba and Boyle, 2010; Smith-Greenaway and Thomas, 2014). Of course, even though our study results suggest that women better secure immunizations for their children the longer they live in the destination community, this advantage may not translate into better physical health outcomes for children.…”

“…Other research explores whether migration—particularly women’s movement from rural to urban areas—contributes to reductions in fertility by shifting women’s reproductive desires and behaviors to align with those of their urban peers (Brockerhoff and Yang, 1994; Caldwell and Caldwell, 1993; Timaeus and Graham, 1989). Research increasingly investigates how migration, particularly of mothers, influences children’s well-being (Ford and Hosegood, 2005; Liang and Chen, 2007; Madhavan et al, 2012; Omariba and Boyle, 2010). …”

“…In terms of economic factors, although migrant women may eventually experience financial gains after relocating, they likely face financial strain around the time of moving due to additional expenses incurred from traveling and securing housing (Omariba and Boyle, 2010). Compounding these strains, women may stop working in anticipation of the move or have to search for new employment in the destination community.…”

“…From this perspective, despite the fact that migrant women are likely positively selected and among the wealthiest and most highly-educated women in their origin community (Ssengonzi et al, 2002) and may even experience long-term economic gains as a result of migration, the cost of moving likely creates financial hardships in the short term. If this is the case, a woman’s limited access to resources, and her need to actively search for employment, may divert her attention from priorities such as securing transport and taking time off from work to access healthcare for her children (Omariba and Boyle, 2010), thereby reducing her children’s likelihood of vaccination.…”

Out of the frying pan into the fire? Urban penalty of the poor and multiple barriers to climate change adaptation in Cambodia and Tanzania

“…However, the connection between urban residence and good health may be spurious and confounded by both poverty and migration status (Bocquier et al 2011). Notwithstanding the recognized existence of confounding, there is evidence that city life for the poor in developing countries may have a corrosive effect on recent migrants from the rural areas over time (see Bocquier et al 2011;Omariba and Boyle 2010). This effect has severally been conceptualized in the literature as the urban penalty (see Rice and Rice 2009).…”