Abstract

The neoclassical, political economy, mid-range theories, and social transformation perspectives have all contributed to the current metaconceptual framework (i.e., the aspirations-capabilities framework of migration) to guide further development and testing of relevant hypotheses that contribute to ongoing discussions on why people participate in cross-border migration. Based on the reviewed theoretical assumptions and empirical works, a number of theoretical gaps in existing migration theories have been identified, which merit scholarly attention. Among these gaps are the following. Existing migration theories have not addressed the role of subjectivities, motivations, goals, and general life aspirations, as well as cognitive processes, in the migration decision-making process at the micro-level. At the macro-level, the role of social inequalities and happenstances has received insufficient attention. Therefore, the present study will address these gaps using data from multiple secondary and primary data sources from Africa. Gender will be considered as a stratifier in this study in response to many scholars' calls to include gender in mainstream migration analysis.

Biography of speaker

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