Migrant involvement in community development: the case of the rural Ashanti Region-Ghana (original) (raw)

Today, the development of many rural communities in the Ashanti Region of Ghana is to a considerable extent being supported by migrants. In spite of the wealth of publications about migrant remittances and community development, few studies have investigated the processes that take place in the communities where the migrant support arrives and that can influence successful involvement of migrants in community development. Some exceptions that do pay more attention to this are Mohan (2006), Cotula and Toulmin (2004) and Akolongo (2005). However, much of the literature either describes the types of migrant support and the impact on communities, or focuses on the motivations and characteristics of senders (see e.g. Addison 2004, Levitt and Nyberg-Sorensen 2004, Higazi 2005, Loup 2005, Orozco 2005, World Bank 2006). This is regrettable since in policy circles there is growing interest in the prospects of involving migrants in development, so there is a need for more studies with evidenc...