Rural-Urban Migration, Inequality and Urban Social Disorder

The study finds that rural-urban migration itself does not cause urban violence. Instead, lethal urban political violence is associated with the socioeconomic marginalization of rural-urban migrants—specifically relative deprivation in terms of household assets and access to public services—as well as unequal access to education within the city population.

• The study finds no statistical evidence that the volume of rural-urban migration is associated with an increase in urban social disturbances, whether lethal or non-lethal.
• Socioeconomic marginalization of rural-urban migrants, specifically relative deprivation regarding household assets, is positively associated with an increase in lethal urban political violence.
• Relative deprivation of rural-urban migrants in terms of access to basic public services also shows a positive association with lethal urban disorder.
• Inequality in access to education among city inhabitants is associated with a higher prevalence of lethal urban violence.
• Lower levels of overall education among city inhabitants are linked to a higher likelihood of lethal urban disorder events.
• Semi-autocratic regimes are found to have higher levels of both lethal and non-lethal urban disorder events compared to both full autocracies and democracies.
• Proximity to ongoing armed conflict has a clear negative effect on the frequency of lethal urban events, meaning cities closer to conflict zones experience more lethal disorder.
• Higher national income levels are associated with increased levels of non-lethal political violence, which the author suggests may be because development provides more resources to fight over.

APA

Østby, G. (n.d.). Rural-Urban Migration, Inequality and Urban Social Disorder. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/d966058f-3028-4c7c-b6ad-b3f3ae1eca44/Rural-Urban Migration Inequality and Urban Social Disorder Evidence from African and Asian Cities.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Østby, Gudrun. Rural-Urban Migration, Inequality and Urban Social Disorder. Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/d966058f-3028-4c7c-b6ad-b3f3ae1eca44/Rural-Urban Migration Inequality and Urban Social Disorder Evidence from African and Asian Cities.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Østby |first1=Gudrun |title=Rural-Urban Migration, Inequality and Urban Social Disorder |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/d966058f-3028-4c7c-b6ad-b3f3ae1eca44/Rural-Urban Migration Inequality and Urban Social Disorder Evidence from African and Asian Cities.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stbyndruralurban, author = {Østby, Gudrun}, title = {{Rural-Urban Migration, Inequality and Urban Social Disorder}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/d966058f-3028-4c7c-b6ad-b3f3ae1eca44/Rural-Urban Migration Inequality and Urban Social Disorder Evidence from African and Asian Cities.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }