Thesis: Migration and Development in Southern Morocco

Introduction

Over the second half of the 20th century, Morocco has evolved into one of the world’s leading emigration countries. However, the systematic study of migration and development in Morocco and the Mediterranean has been largely neglected after a temporary surge of largely pessimistic studies in the 1970s. Empirical work from this region has, therefore, been largely absent from the lively theoretical debate on migration and development.

This study aims to fill this gap on the basis of comprehensive fieldwork in the

south-Moroccan Todgha oasis valley conducted between 1998 and 2000. Embedded in an elaborate theoretical framework and based on qualitative research and a survey among more than 500 households, it explores in detail migration-development linkages.

This study demonstrates how migration has drastically changed the face of traditional oasis society, and how international migration has significantly contributed to the economic development of the Todgha valley. At the same time, migration has contributed to profound social and cultural transformations.

This challenges the dominant pessimistic perspectives on migration and

development. However, several structural obstacles at the regional, national, and international level prevent the (high) development potential of migration from being fully realized.

The result of this PhD study, which was part of the IMAROM project on migratoin and agricultural transformations in Maghrebi oases, have been summarised in the following articles

de Haas, Hein (2006) Migration, Remittances and Regional Development in Southern Morocco. Geoforum 37(4), 565-580. Download text

de Haas, Hein (2004) De Andere Kant van Migratie – Een Marokkaanse Oase op Drift- In: J. Van der Meer (ed) Stille Gevers: Migranten en hun Steun aan het Thuisland. Amsterdam: De Balie, pp. 58-68. Download as PDF  / View book on publisher website

de Haas, Hein (2005) De migratieparadox: Waarom ontwikkeling emigratie stimuleert, Geografie, Oktober 2005. Download article