Perception of Democracy and Women's Desire to Emigrate: Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Perceptions of democracy remain an important determinant of people's migration choices in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using cross-sectional data on 42,224 individuals, 21,137 of whom were women, from 31 Sub-Saharan African countries, this study examines the effect of women's perceptions of democracy on their desire to emigrate. The seemingly unrelated (SUR) bivariate probit method was used to analyze the data. This approach is used to deal with the potential endogeneity bias that arises when the dependent variable and the independent variable of interest are both endogenous and binary. The main finding of this study is that the more positive women's perceptions of democracy are, the less likely they are to want to emigrate. However, young women, educated women, and women who have experienced gender discrimination are more likely to want to emigrate. Consequently, Sub-Saharan African countries need to strengthen the democratization process by ensuring the effective independence of democratic institutions, the separation of powers, and the protection of human rights. This would encourage women to remain in their countries of origin and contribute to a better understanding of the political sources of migration.