Abstract:
In this thesis migration is assumed to be practically
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tantamount to urbanization. After setting out the nature of
the study to be pursued in Chapter 1, the thesis analyses
various theories of migration/urbanization in Chapter 2. In
Chapter 3 the. major demographic and economic features of the
migration/urbanization process in the presently developing
countries are compared with those of the developed countries
in the past. The general evidence on migration/urbanization
trends in South Africa, and for selected towns, is examined
in Chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 6 is a summary of the main
findings of the study and finally, Chapter 7 contains some
policy implications.
conclusions on migration or
South Africa in particular.
largely as a result of
The thesis draws some tentative
urbanization in general, and for
Thus, cities which are growing
rural-urban migration have a very different character to
those that are growing largely on account of natural
population increase . Moreover, differentials between urban
and rural incomes are generally greatest where urban growth
has been very rapid. It would seem that migration or
urbanization have had an equilibrating effect on income
distribution in the developed countries, whereas the
corresponding effect is generally disequilibrating in
developing countries. Migration/urbanization is also a disequilibrating process in
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most developing countries or communities as far as
geographical population distribution is concerned . This has
generally also been the case in South Africa which in many
ways represents a microcosm of the world as a whole. The
migration/urbanization process has clearly been
disequilibrating among the various race groups in south
Africa. However, the process has generally had an
equilibrating effect on the income distribution within the
various population groups. In the case of the black
population group, in particular, the effect on income
distribution has been disequilibrating, while urbanization
has had an equilibrating effect on the geographical
distribution due to stringent control measures.
The urbanization process in South Africa is of a dual
nature : nearing saturation in the case of white people but
far from complete for black people.
