The precarity of internal migration of youth in Ghana: exploitative employment and livelihood insecurity

ABSTRACT

This paper ascertains whether young internal migrants are prone to poverty and livelihood insecurity and become victims of exploitative employment when compared to the non-migrant youth population in Ghana. This study employs econometrics analysis using the Ghana Living Standards Survey 6 (2012) and 7 (2017), with a sample size of 15,000 households, and ethnographic interviews to assess the determinants of livelihood security, exploitation, and abuse. Our analysis focuses on youth in four administrative regions in Ghana with the highest number of internal migrants. The study found that young internal migrants are often engaged in unstable, noncontract, abusive, and exploitative employment.

KEYWORDS:

• Ghana
• migration
• exploitation
• livelihoods
• youth
• (un)employment
• abuse

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 See Table 3, Birth region model part. Migrants’ probability to be employed in 2012/13 compared to non-migrants shown by ${\alpha }_2$ for Greater Accra or ${\alpha }_2+{\alpha }_{3j}$ for other birth regions.

2 Calculated by adding ${\beta }_2+{\beta }_{33}$ as explained in the method section/appendix.

3 Calculated by adding ${\beta }_1+{\beta }_2+{\beta }_{33}+{\beta }_{43}$ as explained in the method section/appendix.

4 “Work-related injuries” include open wounds, fractures, dislocations/sprains/stains, breathing problems, eye problems, skin problems, stomach problems/diarrhea, fever, extreme fatigue, snake bite, and insect bite.

“Work-related health hazards” include dust/fumes, fire/gas/flames, loud noise/vibration, extreme cold/heat, dangerous tools, work underground, work at heights, work in water/lake/pond/river, workplace too dark or confined, insufficient ventilation, chemicals, explosives, narcotic/drugs, and arms.

“Abuses at work” include constant shouting, repeated insults, physical abuses, and sexual harassment (GSS 2017).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dinar Kharisma

Dr. Dinar Kharisma is a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Center for Global Development and Sustainability, at The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University. He holds a PhD in Social Policy with a concentration in Global Development and Sustainability from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Prior to joining Brandeis University, he worked with the Government of Indonesia, mostly on the development of national social protection programs, including the National Health Insurance, conditional cash transfer, and many types of social assistance schemes. Dinar has expertise in social policy analysis and evaluation. His main research interest is social policy evaluation in developing countries. He holds an M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School, Tufts University, with a concentration in development economics and public health, as well as a B.A. in Economics from the University of Indonesia.