Urban aspirations, rural realities : navigating labour dynamics in Malawi and Tanzania
Authors:   , Van Cappellen Hanne 
Published: November 2024

This dissertation explores the complexities of structural transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the intertwined dynamics of rural labour and urbanisation in Malawi and Tanzania. Structural transformation—a process involving significant shifts in capital infrastructure, workforce composition, and demographics—is examined through the central question: ‘How does the process of urbanisation influence the labour allocation choices and work aspirations of rural individuals?’ To delve deeper, two sub-questions guide the investigation. The first examines how shifting labour patterns, evolving occupational identities, and the increasingly blurred boundaries between rural and urban areas—physically, culturally, and economically—contribute to the broader phenomenon of rural transformation. The second sub-question addresses the limitations of conventional surveys and labour modules in capturing the nuanced work perceptions and labour dynamics unique to these contexts. Responding to the growing need for cross-disciplinary engagement in Development Studies, this dissertation employs a multidisciplinary framework. Starting from an economic core, it integrates insights from anthropology and peasant studies. It employs both qualitative and quantitative data, including life histories, survey data, and remote sensing data, focusing on micro-level case studies to uncover intricate links between local contexts and broader structural changes. Conceptually, the study challenges traditional views of the urban-rural divide and the distinction between agricultural and non-agricultural employment, exploring the fluid and interconnected nature of contemporary urban and rural socio-economic landscapes. Throughout its exploration, the dissertation remains attuned to the historical and political contexts embedded within structural transformation theory and the broader field of development. Part 1 focuses on Malawi and investigates the link between urbanisation and rural labour patterns. Beginning with a quantitative analysis, it finds that as nearby urbanisation increases, rural individuals increase their hours worked, particularly shifting from own farm work to ganyu, a local form of informal labour. The following chapter delves into the practice of ganyu, using qualitative data to place its growing prevalence in a historical context. The study reveals that ganyu has expanded in both depth and breadth, with urbanisation affecting its underlying socio-economic mechanisms. It also examines the rise of land rental as a cash-earning strategy and its interaction with ganyu dynamics within the rural-urban continuum, framing these findings within an ongoing process of proletarianisation. Part 2 shifts to Tanzania, investigating the occupational trajectories of rural-urban migrants in the Kagera region. By tracking 75 migrants over more than 20 years, the study uncovers the fluid nature of occupational mobility. Employing the aspirations-capabilities framework, it identifies the factors shaping the capacity to aspire and the barriers that constrain it. The findings highlight that migrants' journeys toward their desired jobs are long and incremental, often interrupted by setbacks, underscoring the complexity of realising aspirations amid structural challenges. The next chapter reflects on the implications of these findings for structural transformation in Tanzania, exploring the sectoral composition of migrants' job trajectories and identifying trends in informality, job diversification, and a strong preference for entrepreneurship or ‘doing business.’ These insights provide a nuanced reflection on the structural transformation process within the Tanzanian context. The findings in this dissertation show that in both Malawi and Tanzania, urbanisation has the potential to transform labour patterns and well-being. However, rather than following the classical pattern of structural transformation—where labour transitions into formal industrial sectors—this dissertation uncovers a more complex shift. Labour is moving away from traditional agricultural work towards increasingly individualised and diversified work portfolios, often within informal or precarious sectors. Workers are required to exercise significant agency in navigating these opportunities, yet remain constrained by structural barriers such as limited access to resources, education, and formal employment. This reveals the need for policies that are not only rooted in the specific local contexts but are also attuned to the broader global forces shaping these transformations. This dissertation contributes to the literature by enhancing the understanding of structural transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa through a nuanced analysis of the interplay between individual agency and broader economic forces, framing the rural-urban landscape as a continuum. In doing so, it reexamines the path of industrialisation on the continent. Methodologically and epistemologically, this dissertation distinguishes itself by integrating methodologies with varying ontological underpinnings across the positivist-interpretivist spectrum. This approach not only provides a rich perspective on how individuals navigate these transformations but also offers a critical examination of the frameworks employed to understand them.