Sandrine MESPLE-SOMPS, IRD, France
Bjorn NILSSON, IRD, France
This paper investigates the impact of role models---those individuals who resemble us but have achieved more than us--- on intentions to migrate in Mali. We implement a randomised controlled trial showing documentaries depicting life stories of non-migrants and migrants in rural villages in the region of Kayes, Western Mali. We find no evidence that any of the three interventions produces an average impact on migration intentions. We do however find that an identification process is at work and that documentaries showing positive role models impact welfare aspirations and locus of control, but that these impacts are not sufficient to change intentions to migrate. The high average aspirations to improve living conditions, coupled with a strong feeling of lack of control over the future may help explaining the fact that confrontations with real life experiences do not significantly modify average intentions to migrate.
Mots clés : Migration|Aspirations|Role models|Sub-Saharan Africa
A104996SM