Causes and consequences of internal migration

The main focus of this study is on the determinants and socio-economic implications of internal migration. It emphasizes in particular the functions of migration in the transformation of rural and urban economies and the effects of migration on production, agricultural productivity, technological change, population growth, structure and level of employment and unemployment, and income distribution between and within rural and urban areas. The study also includes an analysis of migrants' perceptions, expectations and experiences as well as characteristics of non-migrants, potential migrants and return migrants. Within this framework, the authors examine a number of important questions and highlight the policy implications of their major findings.

The study is based on primary data generated in two household surveys, one carried out in 26 selected villages of Ludhiana district in the Indian Punjab and the other in the city of Ludhiana.

A. S. Oberai is a senior economist in the International Labour Office where he has worked since completing his post-graduate work in econometrics and mathematical economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has written extensively on population mobility, employment and development related issues. Among his other recent publications are: Changes in the Structure of Employment with Economic Development (1981), and an edited volume, State Policies and Internal Migration: Studies in Market and Planned Economies (1983).