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Foreign Remittances in Ghana: Reducing the Poverty Gap for Individuals and the Community

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Transnational Transfers and Global Development

Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

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Abstract

In this chapter, I consider the multiple roles that remittances play in the social and cultural life of Ghana. I show that the subject of remittances, when viewed as a social rather than as a purely economic activity, is especially complex. Migrants send money back to Ghana, which creates an important revenue stream for the country. Among the things that remittances support are social programs and benefits that are properly in the purview of government, but which it cannot afford. In this sense, remittances function as a kind of safety valve; they prevent frustration with an ineffective public sector from boiling over into generalized social strife.

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Authors
  1. Deborah Pellow
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Syracuse University, USA

    Stuart S. Brown (Professor of International Relations) (Professor of International Relations)

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© 2012 Deborah Pellow

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Pellow, D. (2012). Foreign Remittances in Ghana: Reducing the Poverty Gap for Individuals and the Community. In: Brown, S.S. (eds) Transnational Transfers and Global Development. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230357495_4

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