The Dynamics of Remittances Impact: A Mixed-Method Approach to Understand Ghana’s Situation and the Way Forward

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 ou...

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Autor principal:	Stephen Asafo Agyei
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	migration remittances political economy analysis macroeconomic impact social inequality Social Sciences H
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/7d544c114bd945d69658a430d473efd1
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:7d544c114bd945d69658a430d473efd12021-11-25T18:59:38ZThe Dynamics of Remittances Impact: A Mixed-Method Approach to Understand Ghana’s Situation and the Way Forward10.3390/socsci101104102076-0760https://doaj.org/article/7d544c114bd945d69658a430d473efd12021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/11/410https://doaj.org/toc/2076-0760Many 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.Stephen Asafo AgyeiMDPI AGarticlemigrationremittancespolitical economy analysismacroeconomic impactsocial inequalitySocial SciencesHENSocial Sciences, Vol 10, Iss 410, p 410 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	migration remittances political economy analysis macroeconomic impact social inequality Social Sciences H
spellingShingle	migration remittances political economy analysis macroeconomic impact social inequality Social Sciences H Stephen Asafo Agyei The Dynamics of Remittances Impact: A Mixed-Method Approach to Understand Ghana’s Situation and the Way Forward
description	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.
format	article
author	Stephen Asafo Agyei
author_facet	Stephen Asafo Agyei
author_sort	Stephen Asafo Agyei
title	The Dynamics of Remittances Impact: A Mixed-Method Approach to Understand Ghana’s Situation and the Way Forward
title_short	The Dynamics of Remittances Impact: A Mixed-Method Approach to Understand Ghana’s Situation and the Way Forward
title_full	The Dynamics of Remittances Impact: A Mixed-Method Approach to Understand Ghana’s Situation and the Way Forward
title_fullStr	The Dynamics of Remittances Impact: A Mixed-Method Approach to Understand Ghana’s Situation and the Way Forward
title_full_unstemmed	The Dynamics of Remittances Impact: A Mixed-Method Approach to Understand Ghana’s Situation and the Way Forward
title_sort	dynamics of remittances impact: a mixed-method approach to understand ghana’s situation and the way forward
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/7d544c114bd945d69658a430d473efd1
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The Dynamics of Remittances Impact: A Mixed-Method Approach to Understand Ghana’s Situation and the Way Forward

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