Assessing livelihood status of migrants from northern Ghana resident in the Obuasi Municipality

Abstract

In Ghana, studies on migration and livelihoods are mostly limited to migrants’ places of origin. This paper therefore assesses livelihood status of permanent migrants resident in the Obuasi Municipality who hail from the northern parts of Ghana. The instrument used was a survey questionnaire and the respondents were both migrants and indigenes aged 18 years and above. The findings showed no significant differences between migrants and indigenes in ownership of assets and consumer durable goods and housing quality. However, the indigenes earned relatively higher than the migrants due to access to various forms of capital and the influence of institutional structures and processes. But to the migrants, their livelihood status has improved since they have built houses, educated their children, remitted relations at home and have acquired some consumer durable goods. Improvement in the livelihood status of migrants could induce further north–south migration. There is therefore the need for government and other stakeholders to bridge the gap of unequal socioeconomic development between the northern and southern parts of the country.