Migration decisions, agrarian structure, and gender: the case of Ecuador.

Abstract

This article briefly reviews the literature on migration in Latin America and examines migration decision making in Ecuador. Aggregate data are obtained from the 1974 census of agriculture and population for cantones. Individual level data are obtained from the 1982 census of population. Migration refers to all census persons who recorded differences in their present and previous place of residence during 1974-82. Migration is modeled as dependent upon gender, age, education, marital status, income at origin and at destination, and population pressure or agrarian reform. Logistic model findings indicate that migration decisions are influenced by individual characteristics of migrants and contextual variables. Migration varied by gender. The results confirm Todaro's hypothesis that the probability of migrating is related to income differences between place of destination and origin, but only for males. Findings suggest that females migrate for primary reasons other than economic ones. The probability of migration was greater with increased levels of education. The decision to migrate was affected by quality of life differences, such as literacy rates and levels of urbanization. The probability of migration was reduced by the effects of land reform. Population pressure had a significant effect in increasing migration. The effects of land reform differ from findings in Mexico by William E. Cole and Richard D. Sanders. Land reforms were initiated in 1964 in Ecuador, but by 1974 there was still considerable inequality in land distribution and increased population pressure. Traditional haciendas were modernized, and peasants increased their dependency on non-farm income.