Migration determinant of fertility in four Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems of Burkina Faso and Kenya

Roger Pongi Nyuba, Université Catholique de Louvain

This paper uses data from four Health and Demographic Surveillance Sites (HDSS) in Kenya and Burkina Faso to analyze the effect of female and male migration pattern on fertility behavior, both of migrants and non-migrants: Two rural HDSSs (Nanoro and Kisumu) and two urban HDSSs (Ougadougou and Nairobi) are included in the analysis. The aim is to highlight how the migration system components (migration flows, migrant’s characteristics and duration of migration) changes fertility behavior, by using Cox models and comparing results in these four areas. Two original methods are developed in this paper. The first is the use of accurate dates for in-migration, out-migration and child birth which allow to analyze in more detail the relationship between migration and fertility. The second is the inclusion of the husband’s (or partner’s) migration pattern as a heterogeneity factor both for migrant and non-migrant women’s fertility behavior.