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Introduction
The movement of rural people to the cities is not a new phenomenon, nor is it restricted to particular parts of the world; the unique factor about the present urban growth is its universal character and the explosive pace at which it is taking place. This is due to the very high natural increase of population, added to the limited employment opportunities and subsistence chances in rural areas.1
One of the growing problems in many developing countries like Zambia today is massive urban unemployment. The causes of this range from low rates of job creation due to laborsaving technology in the modern sectors, to increasing urban rates of population growth. However, an ever increasing part in worsening this problem is being played by rural-urban labor migration from the rural areas of Zambia to the urban centers.
Many scholars have studied the problem of migration from different angles. In the first place migration takes different forms.
There is first the rural-rural migration where people move from land-shortage areas to land-abundant areas.
Secondly, there is the urban-rural migration which Breese2 has referred to as "reverse migration" - that is, the backto-the-village migration of former residents of the cities which is one of great interest. With the exception of cases where it is customary for one to migrate for a short period, save a small sum of money, and then return to the village, the evidence seems to indicate that there is little reverse migration. Clyde Mitchell3 has remarked that "if a rural migrant stays away from his rural area for a period of 10 years or more, except for occasional holiday visits, it is extremely unlikely that he will ever return to live there."
Thirdly, there is also international migration.
Finally, there is also the rural-urban migration on which this article is focused.
All these forms of migration have been studied for various reasons or purposes, e.g. the causes of such migration and the effects they may have on employment, productivity in the rural areas, housing in the urban areas and the social structure. Rural-urban migration in Zambia When discussing rural-urban migration, one has to consider the heterogeneous nature of labor and the extent of migration.
Nature of migration
One must distinguish between educated and skilled...