Coping with Absence How Rural Households Adapt to Migration in Afgoye, Somalia
Keywords:
Rural-urban migration, Household labour demands, Remittances, Coping strategies, Afgoye, SomaliaAbstract
This papers investigates the effects of rural-urban migration on communities in Afgoye. It explores social, economic, and gender-related factors, including environmental and economic push factors, and migration-induced networks. Using a mixed-methods approach with a sample of 384 individuals and key informant interviews, the research found that rural households make various adjustments, such as diversifying income and changing household labour dynamics, to cope with migration. The most significant finding was a statistically significant increase in household labour demands, which fills a gap in previous literature that often focuses more on remittances and social networks. The study highlights the resilience of rural households and provides valuable insights for policies aimed at supporting these communities.
References
Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods. Oxford University Press.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage Publications.
De Haas, H. (2007). The impact of international migration on social development in origin communities: A case study of Morocco.
The International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 31(6), 661–682.
De Brauw, A., & Rozelle, S. (2008). Migration and households’ investment in rural China.
The China Quarterly, 195, 785-802.
Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. Sage Publications.
Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Hugo, G. (1995). Migration and rural-urban linkages in developing countries.
The Geographical Journal, 161(2), 163-181.
Levitt, P. (1998). Social remittances: A conceptual tool for understanding migration and development.
International Migration Review, 32(4), 926-949.
Somalia Ministry of Planning. (2022).
World Bank. (2018). Somalia economic update: Mobilizing domestic revenue to rebuild. World Bank Group.
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mahad, Mbegera (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This journal uses CC Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)
All articles published in this journal are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Under this license:
Authors retain copyright of their work.
Users are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially
Conditions:
Appropriate attribution must be given to the original author(s) and source.
A link to the license must be provided.
Any changes made must be indicated clearly.
This license ensures the widest possible dissemination and use of published research, while giving authors credit for their work.
Why CC BY 4.0?
The CC BY 4.0 license supports:
Open Access principles, allowing anyone to read, share, and reuse articles without restriction.
Compliance with funder mandates (e.g., Plan S, Horizon Europe).
Academic citation and attribution integrity.
For full legal details of this license, please visit:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
