Migration, remittances, and child education in Ghana

Abstract

Evidence on the time-varying effects of migration, remittances, and child education in African contexts remains scarce. This study employs panel data to examine educational outcomes – school enjoyment, and class ranking – of children whose parents migrated internally or internationally and who received in-kind remittances, monetary remittances, or both. The data were collected in 2013, 2014, and 2015 on a panel of school-going children and youths aged from 12 to 21 in two urban areas with high out-migration rates in Ghana: Kumasi and Sunyani (N = 741). The panel includes children of both migrant and non-migrant parents. Results indicate dynamic patterns of sending remittances over years, with preferences converging toward sending both in-kind and monetary remittances by internal and international migrant parents. Overall, the education of children benefits when they receive both in-kind and monetary remittances. The positive effects are further enhanced when remittances are directly invested in child education. The absence of remittances has more negative effects on child education, especially for girls. This study gives a more nuanced understanding of the dynamic and intertwined associations between parental migration, remittances, and the education of children in transnational families.