Transnationalism and the Ghanaian diaspora in the UK: regional inequalities and the developmental effects of remittances at the sub-national level

Thesis

This thesis presents a sub-national comparative analysis of the nexus between migration and development using the case of two disparate migrant communities (from the Upper East and Eastern regions of Ghana) in the UK.

The aim is to examine how inherent socio-economic inequalities prior to emigration impact on emigrants’ migration patterns, experiences, transnational activities and, ultimately, development outcomes at the micro and meso levels in the sending country. I argue, in this thesis, that the focus by development economists and most migration researchers on national-level macro analysis, as well as ‘location specific’ or single-site sub-national analysis, of the centrality of remittances to the enhancement of development at ‘home’ masks important nuances that are revealed by a comparative sub-national analysis.

This study uses a case study approach, whereby two migrant communities are investigated in detail within their pre-migration contexts. This allows for a deeper understanding of how transnational migration practices and/or processes are influenced by, and influence their context. It examines regional socio-economic inequalities and the interconnections between migration stage, spatial scales and local development.

This is achieved through a fifteen-month fieldwork using multiple research methods (key-informant interviews, in-depth structured and semi-structured interviews, surveys, participant observation and library research) in order to corroborate and triangulate findings from different sources. The thesis takes a spatiotemporal perspective in the migration-development nexus debate. Respondents for this research include economic migrants and refugees/forced migrants.

Among others, I conclude that globalisation and access to effective, yet relatively cheap, technological and communications facilities have bolstered individualistic migratory decision making thus reducing the centrality of the family or household as the unit of analysis in the causes and consequences of migration discourses.

Overall, the thesis aims to contribute a new, broader, and more inclusive perspective to migration research by arguing that migration-development phenomena are better appreciated through a comprehensive approach that encompasses migrants and sending communities and underlines the relationship between the two within a sub-national context.

Authors: Kandilige, L

• Publication date: 2011
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-pvpypbprr
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: Oxford University, UK
• Language: English
• Keywords: diaspora; inequality; remittances; development; sub-national; transnationalism
• Subjects: International studies; Transnationalism; Globalisation; Migration; Poverty; Human development; Africa; Transnationalism and diaspora; Social Inequality