The Influence of Household Endowment on Settlement Choices in Cameroon

Abstract

Household endowment has become a strong determinant of settlement choices. In spite of this trend, a quantitative assessment of the association between household endowment and settlement choices for policy implication is negligible in Cameroon. This paper seeks to bridge this gap by providing evidence on the extent to which household endowment influences settlement choices in Cameroon, using data from Cameroon’s 2011 Demographic and Health Survey, supplemented with a multiple indicators cluster survey. The survey used a national sample of 14,214 households, with sub-samples of 15,426 women and 7,191 men. Three questionnaires were used to collect information for the survey: a household questionnaire, an individual women’s questionnaire, and an individual men’s questionnaire. Choice of settlement was the dependent variable; with urban settlement being the base category. The independent variables included income level measured as wealth index, educational attainment, occupation and other demographic factors. Data was analysed quantitatively using Stata 14 and the binary probit estimation technique. The results indicated that educational attainment, income, gender, age of head of household and household size had a positive influence on the likelihood of urban settlement choices; while marital status and occupations had a negative effect on the likelihood of urban settlement choices. Based on these results, it is recommended that the government should enhance the potentials of rural areas to make them more attractive for settlement, a situation which will reduce urban population pressure and attract rural development. Besides, the government should construct social infrastructures and amenities in the rural areas to hearten household choice of rural settlement.