Changing Patterns of Migration and Remittances in Rural Ghana

Abstract

While migration is an important livelihood strategy adopted by individuals and households to improve living standards, there are contesting views on its effects on the welfare of the migrant households in migrant sending areas and socioeconomic development in migrant sending areas. Despite the recognition that migration can contribute to improved livelihoods and socioeconomic development, there is a general paucity of data on migration patterns and the relationship between migration and the wellbeing of migrants’ households. In Africa, most of the earlier studies on migration patterns and effects have focused on international migration, even though internal migration is more pervasive in the region. While a few researchers have examined the welfare impacts of internal migration in some African countries, these assessments are largely based on cross-sectional data. Relying on panel data generated as part of the Migrating out of Poverty (MOOP) research project, this Policy Brief examines changes in migration and remittance patterns of households interviewed in rural Ghana in 2015 and 2018.