Assessing the migration and social instability nexus in sub-saharan Africa : A spatial analysis

The reverse effects of migration in enhancing small-scale social unrest seem less regarded in the existing studies on social conflicts in Africa. Thus, this paper proposes to reversely assess the migration and social instability nexus in Africa, exploiting data on “riots and protests” and “violence against civilians”. In addition to geographical spillovers in social instability, our results indicate that increasing migrants stock enhances small-scale internal conflicts in African countries. On the contrary, good economic performances and openness to trade are found to be reducing social conflicts. Globally, our results impel political actors and regional unions to further implement specific policies for the inclusive integration of regional migrants.