Is migration a key determinant of investment in origin countries? An international event-history analysis of Senegalese migration

Cris Beauchemin, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Cora Mezger, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)

In line with policy concern, this paper investigates the impact of international migration on investments in origin countries in the African context. More specifically, the objective is to study the investments of Senegalese people in their origin country in three sectors that are commonly described as migrants’ investment targets: land, housing and businesses. Our analyses assesses (1) to what extent current migrants and return migrants show specific behaviours, compared to non-migrants, regarding their investments’ choices and practices; and (2) to what extent migrants influence the non-migrants investments in origin countries (through material support or cultural influence). The quantitative data for this study comes from the international MAFE-Project (Migration between Africa and Europe). It mainly consists in life histories collected both in origin (Senegal) and European destination countries (France, Spain, Italy).