Le différentiel de revenus joue-t-il un rôle déterminant dans la migration rurale-urbaine ? Application au cas du Cameroun

This article examines the determinants of households? migration from rural to urban areas in Cameroon, with the special emphasis on the role of income gap. The study uses micro-economic data of ECAM II for two consecutive years. Giving that migrants are not random part of population, the issue of self-selection is also considered to estimate migration incomes. The migration equation is then corrected for selectivity bias using the Heckman procedure (1979). The estimation of probit model confirms the multidimensional aspect of migration phenomenon. The income differential influences the households? decision to participate in migration, which is in conformity with the prediction of the Todaro model, but it is not the dominant factor. Factors as access to loans, lands and houses, and the practice of non-agricultural activities, have a most powerful effect. Therefore, some heads of family can migrate even though their potential earnings are low. Moreover, the positive impact of education on income is more evident for migrant workers. That?s why the most educated heads of family have a high propensity to migrate.