Internal Migration and Welfare among Street Traders in Nigeria

Isaiah O Olurinola,Emmanuel O Amoo,Oluyomi A Ola- David,Theophilus O Fadayomi

doi:10.5171/2015.352191

Isaiah O Olurinola, Emmanuel O Amoo + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.5171/2015.352191

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Abstract

This study examines the employment and income opportunities being enjoyed by migrants and non-migrants in street trading sub-sector of the urban informal economy in Nigeria. The welfare implication of such employment was also examined in the study using both the logistic model and the modified Mincer's model. The data for the study was generated from a cross-section study conducted in four geopolitical zones of Nigeria in the year 2011. These zones are the South-West, South-East, South-South and the Northern parts of Nigeria. The main instrument of data collection was the questionnaire administered in the selected cities. Analysis of data revealed that the majority of street traders interviewed are migrants, and about 72 percent of them reported improvement in welfare. According to the result of the earnings function estimated, migration variable is a statistically significant variable affecting welfare, among others. Therefore the need for policy measures that will create income and employment opportunities in the rural areas and cities cannot be over-emphasised.

Highlights

The two-sector model of Arthur Lewis in the mid-1950s was an attempt to explain the development process in labour-surplus economies of developing nations
This study examines the employment and income opportunities being enjoyed by migrants and non-migrants in street trading sub-sector of the urban informal economy in Nigeria
This study examined the welfare implications of internal migration on those engaged in street trading activities in Nigeria through a 2011 survey of street traders funded by Covenant University Centre for Research and Development (CUCERD).The study, which is national in scope, interviewed 3,873 street traders in the Northern, Eastern and Western parts of Nigeria

Summary

Introduction

The two-sector model of Arthur Lewis in the mid-1950s was an attempt to explain the development process in labour-surplus economies of developing nations. The theory, popularly referred to as the twosector dualistic model posits that the economy is made up of two sectors: the traditional and the modern sectors. This classical model, as opposed to the neoclassical, is of the view that the modern sector is small, uses capital intensive mode of production and pays higher wages than the traditional sector. The traditional sector is, on the contrary, larger, uses little or no capital in the production process and labour is surplus to the extent that its marginal productivity is zero. Labour transfer from the rural to the urban sector appears rational.

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