Flore Gubert

Directeur de recherche au LEDA (Paris Dauphine)

 

 

Abstract: Households in Sahelian countries mostly rely on subsistence agriculture and livelihood means are generally dependent on the quality of a single rainy season (June to October). Income streams are thus often marked with a high degree of seasonality – especially in the rural sector – and are exposed to shocks with the occasional occurrence of poor rainy season conditions. Such variations in the level of productivity across space and over time could presumably induce some adjustments in short-term labour reallocation dynamics, whereby individuals temporarily relocate to places where they are more productive. However, little is known about the scale and precise nature of temporary migration decisions as a viable strategy in the face of climate stresses. This can be partly attributed to the difficulty of measuring subtler human movements with traditional survey methods and the resulting glaring lack of detailed data on short-term movements. In this study, we exploit a multi-year mobile phone dataset in Senegal that allows us to obtain a uniquely granular temporary migration matrix. By observing short-term movements of millions of individuals across more than 900 locations that experience various levels of precipitations over three years, we are able to provide new insights on the temporary reallocation of labour across space in the context of local climate variability.

– Séminaire organisé par le programme 3 / BSE –