Internal Migration, Poverty Reduction and Livelihood Sustainability: Differential Impact of Rural and Urban Destinations

Abstract

Internal migration has become one cardinal policy issue in Ghana over the past few decades. The growing importance of internal migration has stimulated a great deal of discussion among scholars and policy makers on its impacts on poverty reduction and livelihood sustainability. However, most studies tend to be rather narrow and fail to position the interaction between internal migration and poverty reduction within a broader context of migrant geographies. Hence, questions regarding the impact of the spatial characteristics of migrants’ destination on the poverty reduction potentials of internal migration remain unanswered. By using mixed methods, this paper draws together empirical data from migrants in rural and urban destinations in Ghana and questions whether and how rural and urban destinations either strengthen or subvert migrants’ livelihoods and socioeconomic well-being. In this paper, we argue that the impact of internal migration on poverty and livelihood sustainability is partly but significantly influenced by the spatial attributes of migrants’ destination—whether urban or rural. We observed that most migrants in rural destinations experience general improvement in their socioeconomic and livelihood status compared to migrants in urban destinations in Ghana. We conclude that, with the growing urban volatility and its accompanying urban stressors and shocks in Ghana and most developing countries, rural destinations offer better opportunities for ensuring improved and sustainable livelihoods for migrants compared to urban destinations.