An Indirect Cost of Conflict: Road Insecurity as a Barrier to Seasonal Migration in Mali

Mali has experienced, since the 2012 Tuareg-led rebellion followed by a state vacuum and the expansion of jihadist groups, a dramatic increase in the number of violent events targeting civilians. Relying on ACLED conflict data and eight waves of a nationally representative household survey conducted in 2011-2019, I investigate the impact of conflicts on migration routes on households’ ability to resort to seasonal migration as an income-smoothing strategy.