THE ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC DETERMINANTS OF INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION IN RURAL EGYPT

This study uses data collected in rural Egypt to estimate a microlevel model of the economic and demographic determinants of international migration. This model uses predicted income functions to establish origin incomes (incomes excluding remittances). Three findings are noteworthy. First, the results suggest that education may not necessarily be positively correlated with migration. Second, the data indicate that the relationship between income and migration is that of a flat, inverted U-shaped curve. Third, when the combined effects of income and (and are considered, males from poor and landless households have the highest propensity to migrate. Poverty and landlessness combine to push rural Egyptians to work abroad.