Marxist and non-marxist approaches to migration in tropical Africa

Abstract

In the more sophisticated studies on migration in tropical Africa aiming at explanation of migratory phenomena the major distinctions have been those between structural and methodological-individualist approaches, and, within the structural approach, between recent marxism on the one hand and structural-functionalism on the other, the latter having dominated the social-scientific study of African migration since the 1950s. The A's discuss the structural approach, in both its marxist and non-marxist versions, in the light of the question linking migration and rural development: does migration foster rural development by bringing about an optimal distribution of human resources, or, on the contrary, does migration constitute a drain on the labour and material resources of rural areas? They concentrate on anthropological and sociological studies. Sections: Introduction - The structural-functionalist approach - Marxist approaches - Conclusion.