Extreme Weather Events and Migration: The Case of Morocco

Do extreme weather events such as droughts or floods lead to migration away from the areas affected by these events? This chapter aims to provide an answer to that question for Morocco using a new nationally representative household survey implemented in 2009-10. The data suggest that around one in four households have been affected by weather shocks in the five years preceding the survey implementation. Droughts and floods are not directly identified by households as major reasons for migration, but insufficient agricultural revenue and a lack of agricultural employment as well as better employment opportunities at the place of destination are mentioned as reasons to migrate, and these are affected by adverse weather shocks. Furthermore, in regression analysis, after controlling for a wide range of individual and household characteristics, the probability of both temporary and permanent migration increases if the household has been affected by an adverse weather shock or the consequences thereof. Thus, while adverse weather events may not be the main driver of migration, they do contribute to it.