Political favoritism and internal migration in Benin

Alexander Stöcker, Thushyanthan Baskaran and Patrick Hufschmidt

No 1031, Ruhr Economic Papers from RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen

Abstract: In this paper we explore the role of regional connections with a national leader as a pull factor of internal migration in Benin by exploiting granular census data over the period 1991-2013. The empirical analysis is based on a gravity model of migration and utilizes a PPML estimator. Controlling for a diverse set of fixed effects, we show that being connected to a national leader goes along with statistically significant levels of migration into the respective districts. We also provide more detailed evidence that links these migration movements to the presence of political favoritism through its ability to improve economic opportunities and the access to public goods at the local level. The evidence in this paper blends in well with the related literature on political favoritism extending it by a previously unexplored dimension.

Keywords: Favoritism; internal migration; spatiality; luminosity; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D73 O55 R11 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo, nep-mig, nep-pol and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:rwirep:1031

DOI: 10.4419/96973200

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