Education as a means of smooth rural‐urban migration: some evidences from Ethiopia 1, 2

Abstract

This paper models the impact of education on rural‐urban migration in selected villages of Ethiopia. Level of education is found to be significant in triggering ruralurban migration even after accounting for its indirect effect on migration through earnings differential. This may support the argument that education changes the preferences of individuals in rural villages in favour of public goods that are found in urban centers over cultural ‘status goods’ in rural areas. Income differential in the migration decision model is positive and significant lending support to the standard Harris‐Todaro model.

Key words: Rural‐urban migration, status goods, education, self selection