Moved By Modernity - How Development Shapes Migration in Rural Ethiopia

Moved by Modernity challenges the common belief that poverty and climate change are driving migration from poor countries. Through an in-depth study of an Ethiopian village called Wayisso, Kerilyn Schewel examines a counter-intuitive truth: as rural societies develop, more people leave. She shows how expanding markets, political reform, and education reshape aspirations and capabilities to migrate--while poverty and drought often keep people in place. Blending life histories, survey data, and rich ethnographic detail, this book offers a vital new perspective on why people migrate--and why they stay--essential for anyone seeking to understand the forces shaping global migration today.

About the author

Kerilyn Schewel is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research explores the causes and consequences of human migration and immobility, with particular attention to issues of gender, youth, education, rural development, and climate change. She combines qualitative and quantitative methods to provide deeper insights into why people move, why they stay, and how societies can respond to the challenges and opportunities of migration.

Product details

• Authors: Kerilyn Schewel, Kerilyn (Assistant Professor of Sociology Schewel
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 21.11.2025
• EAN: 9780197680728
• ISBN: 978-0-19-768072-8
• No. of pages: 288
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Emigration & Immigration, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / Rural, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Developing & Emerging Countries, Rural communities, Migration, immigration & emigration, Migration, immigration and emigration, Development Studies, Relating to migrant groups / diaspora communities or peoples