Should I Stay or Should I Go? Determinants of Migration Aspiration and Ability in Cameroon

Keywords: Migration, aspiration, ability, Cameroon
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Monday
Session Start / End Time: 2/28/2022 11:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/28/2022 12:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 45

Abstract

Successful migration depends on both the desire and the ability to migrate, but not everyone who wants to migrate has the resources to do so. In Cameroon, a former French colony in central Africa, the economic and political situation has driven many people to desire to leave in recent years, but following through on that desire is much more challenging. To understand the structural barriers to emigrations that exist for Cameroonians and how individual characteristics mediate access to potential migration pathways, I use data from the Gallup World Poll to examine what groups of people are most likely to express an interest in migration and what groups actually follow through on that interest. I also draw on primary evidence collected from an online survey and through semi-structured interviews to explore how understandings of potential destinations, obstacles to migrating, and motivations for leaving vary among different socioeconomic groups. By linking desire to migrate to the ability to migrate, this research provides insight into how well aspirations predict actual migration behavior, and into how potential migrants understand their own mobility. Secondly, it reveals how migration aspiration and migration ability are mediated by education, class, age, gender, and other factors. Finally, through qualitative survey questions and semi-structured interviews, this work provides narrative insights into the migration process and the people that it affects—something that is often missing from empirical analyses.