Abstract
Many scholarly articles on remittance have focused on its positive or negative impact on the macro- or microeconomy. Given that trend, remittance is usually analysed without its sociological elements embedded within the migration process. Therefore, this paper employs a bird’s eye view to advance our understanding of the dynamics of remittance within the Ghanaian migration framework. By this, the paper uses a mixed-method approach to shed light on the Ghana case. First, through multiple linear regression, the paper shows that remittance inflow to Ghana is positively related to GDP per capita. Specifically, the evidence indicates that a 1% increase in remittance leads to an approximately 4% increase in the GDP per capita. Second, with the aid of household survey data from Ghana Statistical Service and Ghana’s poverty dimension, the paper shows that while the empirical finding suggests an improvement of the populace’s standard of living, the evidence on the grounds, however, conflicts with such findings. This is because remittance is primarily a private resource and is likely to reach only a few well-off homes in Ghana; hence, it does not consider an effective redistributive dimension. Third, to further elucidate why remittance reaches these few groups, the paper analyses within the Marxist political framework how legal migration to the developed countries has always been an option only for the well-off and middle-class Ghanaians who could afford the cost. With this clear establishment of the remittance dynamics in Ghana, the study proposes plausible suggestions to enhance the redistributive effect of remittance in Ghana. In particular, the study recommends a state-led online app for migrants to send money to Ghana. Notably, the state should champion this agenda because subsidising the transaction fees would make it relatively cheaper for migrants. While this would encourage migrants to use the official means, which undoubtedly is significant for the macroeconomy, the app’s returns could be used in addressing the country’s social inequality gap at the micro-level.
Highlights
Available data from the World Bank database indicate that the volume of remittance inflow to Ghana has increased over the years, surpassing that of the Official DevelopmentAssistant (ODA) (World Bank 2020)
We present the descriptive statistics, which summarise the variables used for the regression, results of the estimation and micro evidence of remittances recipients in Ghana and discusses the pattern of Ghana’s emigration within the perspective of Marxist political economy
This paper has explored how and why financial remittance, on the one hand, contributes to Ghana’s social inequality gap and, on the other hand, has a significant impact on the macroeconomy
Summary
Available data from the World Bank database indicate that the volume of remittance inflow to Ghana has increased over the years, surpassing that of the Official DevelopmentAssistant (ODA) (World Bank 2020). One of such implications points to Castles and Miller (2009)’s assertion that we are in the age of migration Such mass movement may have transpired in the volume of financial remittances that reached the sending countries. Despite this supposed rise in international migration, the chief point here is that migration from Ghana to the developed or wealthy countries is limited to those who can afford it. This dissenting viewpoint on restriction should at least prompt us that the concept of remittances, which is a consequence of migration, has been narrowly analysed in the literature, focusing on just the numbers. I employ a bird’s-eye-view to demonstrate that since remittances emerge from migration (a social process), its analysis would benefit substantially from mixing diverse methodological approaches that can help present a holistic narrative
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