Auriol, Emmanuelle and Demonsant, Jean-Luc (2011) Education and Migration Choices in Hierarchical Societies: The Case of Matam, Senegal. TSE Working Paper, n. 11-236, Toulouse

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Abstract

The paper aims at studying determinants of schooling in traditional hierarchical societies
confronted with an established history of outmigration. In the village, a ruling caste
controls local political and religious institutions. For children who do not belong to the
ruling caste, migration is a social mobility factor that is enhanced by formal schooling.
Since formally educated children tend not to return, the ruling caste seeks to develop
family loyalty by choosing religious education instead. The theory hence predicts that
the social status of the family has a significant impact on educational choice. Children
from the ruling caste who are sent abroad have a lower probability of being sent to formal
school. They are more likely to be sent to Koranic schools that emphasize religious
and family values. The theoretical predictions are tested on data from Matam region in
Senegal, a region where roughly one of every two children have ever attended school.