Urban Advantage? The Effects of Migration on Children's School Participation in Kenya

Bernard O. Onyango, Brown University

In this paper, data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2003 are utilized to investigate children’s primary school participation in Kenya in relation to their residential location (urban or rural) and their migration status. The aims are to examine if Urban Bias theory is supported, as well as study the role played by migration in determining school participation. Using logit models we found evidence that suggests that compared to rural location, urban location conveys advantages that improve the likelihood of children’s school participation. Further, children of migrants in general are more likely to be enrolled in school than children of non-migrants. Our study extends beyond usual analysis of internal migration in developing countries that are often restricted to rural to urban migration by incorporating other categories. It also focuses on children’s education as an outcome compared to previous studies in developing countries that focus on children’s health.