The Impact of Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Ghana

This paper uses a new, 2005/06 nationally-representative household survey to analyze the impact of internal remittances (from Ghana) and international remittances (from African and other countries) on poverty and inequality in Ghana. To control for...

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Main Authors: Adams, Richard H., Jr., Cuecuecha, Alfredo, Page, John
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/09/9899265/impact-remittances-poverty-inequality-ghana
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6940
id okr-10986-6940
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-69402021-04-23T14:02:32Z The Impact of Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Ghana Adams, Richard H., Jr. Cuecuecha, Alfredo Page, John ACCESS TO RESOURCES ACCOUNTING AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS AMOUNT OF REMITTANCES AVERAGE VALUE OF REMITTANCES BANK POLICY CAPITA REMITTANCES COUNTERFACTUAL CURRENCY CURRENCY CRISIS DATA ON REMITTANCES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRY DISTRIBUTION OF REMITTANCES EARNINGS ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC SHOCKS ECONOMIC STATUS EFFECT OF REMITTANCES EFFECTS OF REMITTANCES ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY EQUIPMENT ETHNIC GROUPS EXCHANGE RATE EXPENDITURE EXPENDITURES FAMILY TIES FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS FEWER CHILDREN FOOD GOODS FOOD POLICY FOOD REQUIREMENTS GENDER GROUP ACCOUNTS HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION HOUSEHOLD HEAD HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD INCOMES HOUSEHOLD SIZE HOUSEHOLD SURVEY HOUSEHOLD WELFARE HUMAN CAPITAL IMPACT OF MIGRATION IMPACT OF REMITTANCES IMPACT ON POVERTY INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME FLOWS INCOME INEQUALITY INCOME TRANSFERS INFLATION INSTRUMENT INTERNAL MIGRANTS INTERNAL MIGRATION INTERNATIONAL BANK INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCE INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCES LABOR FORCE LABOR MARKET LABOUR FORCE LEVEL OF POVERTY LIVING CONDITIONS LIVING STANDARDS MICRO-ENTERPRISES MIGRANT MIGRANT NETWORKS MIGRANT WORKERS MIGRATION NATIONAL POVERTY NATIONAL POVERTY LINE NUMBER OF CHILDREN NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POOR POOR COUNTRIES POOR HOUSEHOLDS POOR PEOPLE POOR PERSON POVERTY GAP POVERTY HEADCOUNT INDEX POVERTY INDEX POVERTY LINE POVERTY MEASURES POVERTY RATES POVERTY REDUCTION POVERTY STATUS PRIMARY EDUCATION PRIMARY SCHOOL PROGRESS RECEIPT REGIONAL DUMMIES RELIGIOUS GROUPS REMITTANCE REMITTANCE FLOWS REMITTANCE-RECEIVING HOUSEHOLDS REMITTANCES REMITTANCES REMITTANCES RESPECT RETURN RETURNS RURAL RURAL AREAS RURAL PRODUCTIVITY SAVINGS SECONDARY EDUCATION SECONDARY SCHOOL SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION SOCIAL NETWORK SOCIAL NETWORKS SQUARED POVERTY GAP INDEX SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA TYPES OF REMITTANCES UNIVERSITY EDUCATION URBAN AREAS VALUE OF REMITTANCES VILLAGE This paper uses a new, 2005/06 nationally-representative household survey to analyze the impact of internal remittances (from Ghana) and international remittances (from African and other countries) on poverty and inequality in Ghana. To control for selection and endogeneity, it uses a two-stage multinomial logit model with instrumental variables focusing on variations in migration networks and remittances among various ethno-religious groups in Ghana. The paper finds that both internal and international remittances reduce the level, depth, and severity of poverty in Ghana. However, the size of the poverty reduction depends on the type of remittances received. In general, poverty in Ghana is reduced more by international than internal remittances. For households receiving international remittances, the level of poverty falls by 88.1 percent with the inclusion of remittances; for households receiving internal remittances, poverty falls by 69.4 percent with the inclusion of remittances. The paper also finds that both types of remittances increase income inequality in Ghana. For households with internal remittances, the inclusion of remittances causes the Gini coefficient to rise by 4 percent, and for households with international remittances, the inclusion of remittances causes the Gini to increase by 17.4 percent. 2012-06-01T21:41:05Z 2012-06-01T21:41:05Z 2008-09 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/09/9899265/impact-remittances-poverty-inequality-ghana http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6940 English Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4732 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research Africa Ghana
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic ACCESS TO RESOURCES
ACCOUNTING
AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
AMOUNT OF REMITTANCES
AVERAGE VALUE OF REMITTANCES
BANK POLICY
CAPITA REMITTANCES
COUNTERFACTUAL
CURRENCY
CURRENCY CRISIS
DATA ON REMITTANCES
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING COUNTRY
DISTRIBUTION OF REMITTANCES
EARNINGS
ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC SHOCKS
ECONOMIC STATUS
EFFECT OF REMITTANCES
EFFECTS OF REMITTANCES
ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY
EQUIPMENT
ETHNIC GROUPS
EXCHANGE RATE
EXPENDITURE
EXPENDITURES
FAMILY TIES
FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS
FEWER CHILDREN
FOOD GOODS
FOOD POLICY
FOOD REQUIREMENTS
GENDER
GROUP ACCOUNTS
HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION
HOUSEHOLD HEAD
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
HOUSEHOLD INCOMES
HOUSEHOLD SIZE
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
HOUSEHOLD WELFARE
HUMAN CAPITAL
IMPACT OF MIGRATION
IMPACT OF REMITTANCES
IMPACT ON POVERTY
INCOME DISTRIBUTION
INCOME FLOWS
INCOME INEQUALITY
INCOME TRANSFERS
INFLATION
INSTRUMENT
INTERNAL MIGRANTS
INTERNAL MIGRATION
INTERNATIONAL BANK
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS
INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCE
INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCES
LABOR FORCE
LABOR MARKET
LABOUR FORCE
LEVEL OF POVERTY
LIVING CONDITIONS
LIVING STANDARDS
MICRO-ENTERPRISES
MIGRANT
MIGRANT NETWORKS
MIGRANT WORKERS
MIGRATION
NATIONAL POVERTY
NATIONAL POVERTY LINE
NUMBER OF CHILDREN
NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS
POLICY RESEARCH
POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER
POOR
POOR COUNTRIES
POOR HOUSEHOLDS
POOR PEOPLE
POOR PERSON
POVERTY GAP
POVERTY HEADCOUNT INDEX
POVERTY INDEX
POVERTY LINE
POVERTY MEASURES
POVERTY RATES
POVERTY REDUCTION
POVERTY STATUS
PRIMARY EDUCATION
PRIMARY SCHOOL
PROGRESS
RECEIPT
REGIONAL DUMMIES
RELIGIOUS GROUPS
REMITTANCE
REMITTANCE FLOWS
REMITTANCE-RECEIVING HOUSEHOLDS
REMITTANCES
REMITTANCES REMITTANCES
RESPECT
RETURN
RETURNS
RURAL
RURAL AREAS
RURAL PRODUCTIVITY
SAVINGS
SECONDARY EDUCATION
SECONDARY SCHOOL
SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION
SOCIAL NETWORK
SOCIAL NETWORKS
SQUARED POVERTY GAP INDEX
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
TYPES OF REMITTANCES
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
URBAN AREAS
VALUE OF REMITTANCES
VILLAGE
spellingShingle ACCESS TO RESOURCES
ACCOUNTING
AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
AMOUNT OF REMITTANCES
AVERAGE VALUE OF REMITTANCES
BANK POLICY
CAPITA REMITTANCES
COUNTERFACTUAL
CURRENCY
CURRENCY CRISIS
DATA ON REMITTANCES
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING COUNTRY
DISTRIBUTION OF REMITTANCES
EARNINGS
ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC SHOCKS
ECONOMIC STATUS
EFFECT OF REMITTANCES
EFFECTS OF REMITTANCES
ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY
EQUIPMENT
ETHNIC GROUPS
EXCHANGE RATE
EXPENDITURE
EXPENDITURES
FAMILY TIES
FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS
FEWER CHILDREN
FOOD GOODS
FOOD POLICY
FOOD REQUIREMENTS
GENDER
GROUP ACCOUNTS
HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION
HOUSEHOLD HEAD
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
HOUSEHOLD INCOMES
HOUSEHOLD SIZE
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
HOUSEHOLD WELFARE
HUMAN CAPITAL
IMPACT OF MIGRATION
IMPACT OF REMITTANCES
IMPACT ON POVERTY
INCOME DISTRIBUTION
INCOME FLOWS
INCOME INEQUALITY
INCOME TRANSFERS
INFLATION
INSTRUMENT
INTERNAL MIGRANTS
INTERNAL MIGRATION
INTERNATIONAL BANK
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS
INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCE
INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCES
LABOR FORCE
LABOR MARKET
LABOUR FORCE
LEVEL OF POVERTY
LIVING CONDITIONS
LIVING STANDARDS
MICRO-ENTERPRISES
MIGRANT
MIGRANT NETWORKS
MIGRANT WORKERS
MIGRATION
NATIONAL POVERTY
NATIONAL POVERTY LINE
NUMBER OF CHILDREN
NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS
POLICY RESEARCH
POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER
POOR
POOR COUNTRIES
POOR HOUSEHOLDS
POOR PEOPLE
POOR PERSON
POVERTY GAP
POVERTY HEADCOUNT INDEX
POVERTY INDEX
POVERTY LINE
POVERTY MEASURES
POVERTY RATES
POVERTY REDUCTION
POVERTY STATUS
PRIMARY EDUCATION
PRIMARY SCHOOL
PROGRESS
RECEIPT
REGIONAL DUMMIES
RELIGIOUS GROUPS
REMITTANCE
REMITTANCE FLOWS
REMITTANCE-RECEIVING HOUSEHOLDS
REMITTANCES
REMITTANCES REMITTANCES
RESPECT
RETURN
RETURNS
RURAL
RURAL AREAS
RURAL PRODUCTIVITY
SAVINGS
SECONDARY EDUCATION
SECONDARY SCHOOL
SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION
SOCIAL NETWORK
SOCIAL NETWORKS
SQUARED POVERTY GAP INDEX
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
TYPES OF REMITTANCES
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
URBAN AREAS
VALUE OF REMITTANCES
VILLAGE
Adams, Richard H., Jr.
Cuecuecha, Alfredo
Page, John
The Impact of Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Ghana
geographic_facet Africa
Ghana
relation Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4732
description This paper uses a new, 2005/06 nationally-representative household survey to analyze the impact of internal remittances (from Ghana) and international remittances (from African and other countries) on poverty and inequality in Ghana. To control for selection and endogeneity, it uses a two-stage multinomial logit model with instrumental variables focusing on variations in migration networks and remittances among various ethno-religious groups in Ghana. The paper finds that both internal and international remittances reduce the level, depth, and severity of poverty in Ghana. However, the size of the poverty reduction depends on the type of remittances received. In general, poverty in Ghana is reduced more by international than internal remittances. For households receiving international remittances, the level of poverty falls by 88.1 percent with the inclusion of remittances; for households receiving internal remittances, poverty falls by 69.4 percent with the inclusion of remittances. The paper also finds that both types of remittances increase income inequality in Ghana. For households with internal remittances, the inclusion of remittances causes the Gini coefficient to rise by 4 percent, and for households with international remittances, the inclusion of remittances causes the Gini to increase by 17.4 percent.
format Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author Adams, Richard H., Jr.
Cuecuecha, Alfredo
Page, John
author_facet Adams, Richard H., Jr.
Cuecuecha, Alfredo
Page, John
author_sort Adams, Richard H., Jr.
title The Impact of Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Ghana
title_short The Impact of Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Ghana
title_full The Impact of Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Ghana
title_fullStr The Impact of Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Ghana
title_full_unstemmed The Impact of Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Ghana
title_sort impact of remittances on poverty and inequality in ghana
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2012
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/09/9899265/impact-remittances-poverty-inequality-ghana
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6940
_version_ 1764401375672795136