ABSTRACT
The object of this chapter is to sound a note of caution about the efficacy of rural development as an instrument for reducing the rate of rural-urban migration. It argues that the short run effects of rural development are more complex than hitherto suggested by the literature and that policy makers may encounter an increased rate of migration, at least in the early stages of a rural development program. The model put forward in the chapter is an attempt at analyzing migration from the rural perspective. A by-product of our approach is the formulation of a direct link between the distribution of income in the rural sector and the rate of migration from that sector. However, the chapter also considers the income effect of an increase in rural incomes people in the rural sector now have more money to spend on migration.
