Dangerous neighbours: sorcery, conspicuous exchange and proximity among urban migrants in northern Mozambique

AbstractUrban migrants in Nampula City, northern Mozambique, perceive themselves to be living in an environment where they are particularly vulnerable to sorcery attacks. Key to this sense of vulnerability are Makhuwa notions of matrilineal descent and relatedness, which work to locate sorcery fears in the interstices of two kinds of proximity, namely social and physical. Accordingly, people fear the translocal reach of the ill will of kin residing in the countryside, with whose well-being they remain connected regardless of the physical distance. Simultaneously, there are threats posed by urban neighbours who, due to their proximity in physical terms but separation in social terms, are considered dangerous. This article analyses practices of conspicuous exchange as one of the strategies urban migrants employ in coping with these anxieties. Specifically, it draws on the life histories of two women in one neighbourhood of Nampula City to explore the challenges they experience in meeting demands for material assistance from rural kin and urban neighbours. The analysis shows that their accounts of sorcery are structured by the difficulty of balancing such demands in a setting of poverty and socio-economic inequality. This finding has implications for anthropological theories of sorcery, misfortune and urban migration.

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Acculturative stress and life satisfaction of Chinese rural-to-urban migrants

Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal ◽

10.2224/sbp.9647 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 48 (11) ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Dekuo Liang ◽

Lei Wang ◽

Liying Xia ◽

Dawei Xu

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

Acculturative Stress ◽

Perceived Social Support ◽

Well Being ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Construction Sites ◽

Urban Migrants ◽

Study Results ◽

The Relationship

Little is known regarding the life satisfaction of rural-to-urban migrants in China. In this study we assessed whether self-esteem and perceived social support mediated the association between rural-to-urban migrants' acculturative stress and life satisfaction. We use convenience sampling to recruit 712 migrants who were employed at construction sites in Nanjing for the study. Results reveal that acculturative stress was negatively related to self-esteem, perceived social support, and life satisfaction; self-esteem was positively associated with perceived social support and life satisfaction; and perceived social support was a significant and positive predictor of life satisfaction. In addition, we found that self-esteem and perceived social support partially mediated the relationship between acculturative stress and life satisfaction. Our findings provide a better understanding of life satisfaction over the course of migration, and add to knowledge of psychological well-being and mental health among rural-to-urban migrants in China.

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INFLUENCE OF WEATHER ON TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT MIGRATION IN RURAL INDIA

Climate Change Economics ◽

10.1142/s2010007813500073 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 04 (02) ◽

pp. 1350007 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

K. S. KAVI KUMAR ◽

BRINDA VISWANATHAN

Keyword(s):

National Sample ◽

Sample Survey ◽

Urban Migration ◽

Temporary Migration ◽

Urban Migrants ◽

Wide Range ◽

Permanent Migration ◽

Sample Survey Data ◽

Almost All ◽

Temporary Migrants

While a wide range of factors influence rural–rural and rural–urban migration in developing countries, there is significant interest in analyzing the role of agricultural distress and growing inter-regional differences in fueling such movement. This strand of research acquires importance in the context of climate change adaptation. In the Indian context, this analysis gets further complicated due to the significant presence of temporary migration. This paper analyzes how weather and its variability affects both temporary and permanent migration in India using National Sample Survey data for the year 2007–2008. The paper finds that almost all of the rural–urban migrants are permanent. Only temperature plays a role in permanent migration. In contrast, many temporary migrants are rural–rural and both temperature and rainfall explain temporary migration.

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RURAL–URBAN MIGRATION AND CHILD SURVIVAL IN URBAN BANGLADESH: ARE THE URBAN MIGRANTS AND POOR DISADVANTAGED?

Journal of Biosocial Science ◽

10.1017/s0021932007002271 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 83-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

M. MAZHARUL ISLAM ◽

KAZI MD ABUL KALAM AZAD

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Urban Poor ◽

Child Survival ◽

Childhood Mortality ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Urban Migration ◽

Under Five ◽

Urban Migrants ◽

Urban Rural

SummaryThis paper analyses the levels and trends of childhood mortality in urban Bangladesh, and examines whether children’s survival chances are poorer among the urban migrants and urban poor. It also examines the determinants of child survival in urban Bangladesh. Data come from the 1999–2000 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. The results indicate that, although the indices of infant and child mortality are consistently better in urban areas, the urban–rural differentials in childhood mortality have diminished in recent years. The study identifies two distinct child morality regimes in urban Bangladesh: one for urban natives and one for rural–urban migrants. Under-five mortality is higher among children born to urban migrants compared with children born to life-long urban natives (102 and 62 per 1000 live births, respectively). The migrant–native mortality differentials more-or-less correspond with the differences in socioeconomic status. Like childhood mortality rates, rural–urban migrants seem to be moderately disadvantaged by economic status compared with their urban native counterparts. Within the urban areas, the child survival status is even worse among the migrant poor than among the average urban poor, especially recent migrants. This poor–non-poor differential in childhood mortality is higher in urban areas than in rural areas. The study findings indicate that rapid growth of the urban population in recent years due to rural-to-urban migration, coupled with higher risk of mortality among migrant’s children, may be considered as one of the major explanations for slower decline in under-five mortality in urban Bangladesh, thus diminishing urban–rural differentials in childhood mortality in Bangladesh. The study demonstrates that housing conditions and access to safe drinking water and hygienic toilet facilities are the most critical determinants of child survival in urban areas, even after controlling for migration status. The findings of the study may have important policy implications for urban planning, highlighting the need to target migrant groups and the urban poor within urban areas in the provision of health care services.

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SEPARATED KIN: RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION AND MENTAL HEALTH TRAJECTORIES OF OLDER ADULTS LEFT BEHIND IN RURAL CHINA

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.3223 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S880-S880

Author(s):

Zhiyong Lin

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Rural China ◽

Well Being ◽

Migrant Children ◽

Urban Migration ◽

Left Behind ◽

Rate Of Increase ◽

The Impact

Abstract As the processes of urbanization and globalization have intensified across the world, a burgeoning literature has documented the impact of emigration on the health of family members left behind in emigrant communities. Although the association between children’s migration and parental well-being is well documented, few have examined the health implications of children’s migration in the milieu of multiple children and further differentiated between children’s short-term and long-term migration. Therefore, I argue that it is not the geographic locality of a single child but the composition of all children’s location that matters. I further suggest that the impact of children’s migration on parental wellbeing is conditioned on the duration of children’s migration. Using a six waves longitudinal data (2001-2015) collected in rural China, this paper compares mental health (measured as depressive symptoms) trajectories of old adults (aged 60 and older) across different compositions of local and migrant children over a 14-year span. Results from growth curve models show that parents having more migrant children relative to local children experience a more rapid increase in depressive symptoms. In addition, older adults who have their most children migrate away for three or more waves of data have experienced the steepest rate of increase in depressive symptoms. These findings provide new evidence to support the life course processes of mental health disparities among older adults from the perspective of intergenerational proximity.

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Why bright city lights dazzle and illuminate: A cognitive science approach to urban promises

Urban Studies ◽

10.1177/0042098018804762 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 56 (2) ◽

pp. 452-470 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rodrigo Cardoso ◽

Evert Meijers ◽

Maarten van Ham ◽

Martijn Burger ◽

Duco de Vos

Keyword(s):

Imperfect Information ◽

Cognitive Biases ◽

Urban Life ◽

Urban Migration ◽

Economic Prosperity ◽

Urban Migrants ◽

Urban Futures ◽

The Many ◽

Biases And Heuristics ◽

Human Rationality

Despite the many uncertainties of life in cities, promises of economic prosperity, social mobility and happiness have fuelled the imagination of generations of urban migrants in search of a better life. Access to jobs, housing and amenities, and fewer restrictions of personal choices are some of the perceived advantages of cities, characterised here as ‘urban promises’. But while discourses celebrating the triumph of cities became increasingly common, urban rewards are not available everywhere and for everyone. Alongside opportunity, cities offer inequality, conflict and poor living conditions. Their narrative of promise has been persistent across different times and places, but the outcomes and experiences of urban life compare poorly with the overoptimistic expectations of many newcomers. And yet, millions still come and stay regardless of odds, raising the question why we have such positive and persistent expectations about cities. To examine this question, this paper considers the process of urban migration from the perspective of decision-making under uncertainty. It discusses how decisions and evaluations are based on imperfect information and offers a novel contribution by examining how the cognitive biases and heuristics which restrict human rationality shape our responses to urban promises. This approach may allow a better understanding of how people make decisions regarding urban migration, how they perceive their urban experiences and evaluate their life stories. We consider the prospects and limitations of the behavioural approach and discuss how biases favouring narratives of bright urban futures can be exploited by ‘triumphalist’ accounts of cities which neglect their embedded injustices.

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Influencing Factors of Rural Families’ Migration to Urban Area: The Case of Kabul, Afghanistan

Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension Economics & Sociology ◽

10.9734/ajaees/2019/v37i430286 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Abdul Ahad Hakim ◽

Ismet Boz

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Rural Families ◽

Study Data ◽

Manuscript Preparation ◽

Gender Inequalities ◽

Urban Migration ◽

Face To Face ◽

Urban Migrants ◽

Rural Urban Migration

Aims: This study aimed to determine factors influencing rural families’ migration to urban areas in Kabul, Afghanistan. Place and Duration of Study: Data were collected in different neighbourhoods of Kabul, Afghanistan during the July-September period of 2019. Data analyses and manuscript preparation were completed in the October-December period of 2019. Methodology: First, the most populated neighbourhoods of Kabul, particularly those areas where the majority of families migrated from rural areas were determined. The data of the study were collected from 400 rural-urban migrants in Kabul city. The questionnaires were filled during face to face informal meetings with households. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, and means. The questionnaire included socio-economic characteristics of rural-urban migrants, pushing and pulling factors which affected rural migration, reasons for insecurity in rural areas, and satisfaction and reintegration of migrants in Kabul city. Results: The results show that unemployment with 9.53 and fear of terror with 9.15 are the most effective pushing factors for rural families to migrate. However, the most important pulling factors which make Kabul city attractive for rural families are the issues regarding rights (women rights with 8.82, having right to vote with 8.73 and human rights with 8.71). Conclusion: In the last five years Afghanistan had huge number immigration internally (1.1 million person) and internationally (1.7 million people) Results of this study suggest that to slower rural-urban migration in Afghanistan, rural development programs should be implemented, and the priority of these programs should be given to the creation of employment opportunities and eliminating gender inequalities in rural areas. Otherwise, either rural-urban migration or dissatisfaction of being in Kabul and preferring not reintegrating back to their villages will make rural-urban migrants seek international migration.

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Locational decisions and subjective well-being: an empirical study of Chinese urban migrants

Applied Economics ◽

10.1080/00036846.2021.2005237 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-16

Author(s):

Lingli Xu ◽

Liang Wang ◽

Christian Nygaard

Keyword(s):

Empirical Study ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Urban Migrants ◽

Locational Decisions

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Balancing Identities: How Economic Inequality and Class Affect Work-life Balance

10.31234/osf.io/n3867 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Silvia Filippi ◽

Caterina Suitner ◽

Bruno Gabriel Salvador Casara ◽

Davide Pirrone ◽

Mara A. Yerkes

Keyword(s):

Social Status ◽

Policy Making ◽

Economic Inequality ◽

Well Being ◽

Work Life ◽

Work Life Balance ◽

European Policy ◽

Life Balance ◽

Fundamental Part

Work-Life Balance (WLB) is recognized as a fundamental part of people’s well-being and prioritized in European policy making. Until recently, little attention was given to the role of economic inequality in people's inferences of WLB. In Study 1, we experimentally tested and confirmed a) the effect of economic inequality on WLB, and b) the role of status anxiety in mediating this relationship. In Study 2, we provided a replication and advancement of Study 1 by manipulating socioeconomic class in addition to economic inequality. Results showed that in the inequality condition, people expected less WLB through a partial mediation of status anxiety and competitiveness. We also found that class mattered, with economic inequality mainly affecting participants in the low-class condition. In sum, economic inequality enhanced participants’ competitiveness and concern about their social status, which in turn affected WLB. This demonstrates the need for policies promoting WLB in those countries characterized by high inequality.

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