The Demographic Dynamics of Migration in Coastal Ghana

Holly E. Reed, Brown University
Michael J. White, Brown University
Catherine N. Stiff, Brown University

This paper uses event history data from coastal Ghana to examine the interrelationship between processes of migration, urbanization, and other socio-demographic changes. Cities in Ghana have become magnets for young migrants seeking employment and educational opportunities. Ghana is also one country in Africa where the demographic transition, associated with increasing urbanization, is well underway, and so it is a pertinent setting for studying migration. Preliminary results from discrete time event history logit models indicate that only some of the usual hypotheses about migration are supported by the Ghana data. We find, net of other controls, higher probabilities of migrating for men, more educated persons, non-married persons, and previous migrants. Curiously, the age profile of migration is less evident in these data. Moreover, rural residents are much less likely to move than urban residents, which may indicate more urban-to-urban migration in the rapidly changing demographic context of sub-Saharan Africa.