A geographical analysis of rural male out-migration: A Case study of Bhagalpur district

Abstract

No simple generalisation about the total effect of out-migration on the place of origin is possible. Men always seek permanent or temporary dwelling at a place where geographical factors are more or less congenial for securing livelihood, security and final adaptation. Out-migration is not only attributed to economic factors but to the entire sociocultural setting of the place. Thus, there is enormous variation in the volume of out-migration between countries and between regions within a country. However, out-migration is generally viewed from macroeconomic perspectives, concentrating mainly on the incidence of out-migration in the non-agricultural urban sector and overshadowing the specific aspects of the rural sector. This urban bias is paradoxical when it is found that most migrants come from rural areas, and also that a great deal of out-migration from the rural areas is directed towards other rural areas.