Before, it wasn’t like this …: Longitudinal research and a generation of continuity and change in rural–urban migration in Vanuatu

Abstract

This paper uses the case study of rural–urban migration from the small island of Paama, Vanuatu over a period of almost 30 years to argue that longitudinal restudies offer valuable insights into processes of continuity and change. Between the early 1980s and 2011, there was great continuity in Paamese demography and rural social organization, circular mobility had decreased, the trend towards urban permanence had continued, and gendered mobility norms had altered. The dialectic nature of mobility was manifest in these changes and continuities, which both reflected and contributed to wider social, economic and political trends over the period. Significantly, many of the mobility trends noted above would not have been apparent without longitudinal data, the use of which allowed for detailed analysis of mobility behavior beyond general observations. Furthermore, while existing restudies tend to focus on change, it is argued that recognizing continuity is also important, and emphasizes the processual nature of mobility.