Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi

The paper examines the importance of information flows in determining the pattern of rural-urban migration in Kenya. The similarity between the ethnic compositions of the rural and urban areas is used to approximate the level of information linking the two areas. Empirical models incorporating this variable provide a more powerful explanation of migration rates, while at the same time causing distance, which is usually hailed as an important force, to be an insignificant determinant of migration. Secondary conclusions include: (a) urban and rural income elasticities appear to have different magnitudes, and (b) the expansion in the urban modern sector does not contribute to the explanation of migration rates.