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Migration and nonfarm activities as income diversification strategies: the case of Northern Ghana

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  • Francesca Marchetta

    (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - UdA - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This article jointly analyses the determinants of participation in non-farm activities and of migration in Northern Ghana, combining household data with community-level information and data on the evolution of the yields of cash and staple crops. Our results confirm the role of education as a key asset to pursue opportunities in the off-farm sector and the role of farm size in reducing the probability to participate in non-farm activities. Poor households do not have enough resources to undertake non-farm activities and they opt for migration as a diversification strategy. Community-level assets are found to play a crucial role for understanding off-farm diversification.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesca Marchetta, 2013. "Migration and nonfarm activities as income diversification strategies: the case of Northern Ghana," Post-Print halshs-03261109, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03261109
    DOI: 10.1080/02255189.2013.755916
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03261109
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    2. Elisabeth Hyo-Chung Chung & Charlotte Guénard, 2012. "Mobilités, vulnérabilité et capital social: une analyse en milieu rural sénégalais," Working Papers DT/2012/16, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    3. Sharma, Govinda & Pandit, Ram & White, Ben & Polyakov, Maksym, 2015. "The Income Diversification Strategies of Smallholder Coffee Producers in Nepal," 2015 Conference (59th), February 10-13, 2015, Rotorua, New Zealand 202580, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    4. Virginia Vallejo-Rojas & Marta G. Rivera-Ferre & Federica Ravera, 2022. "The agri-food system (re)configuration: the case study of an agroecological network in the Ecuadorian Andes," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1301-1327, December.
    5. Michael A. Clemens & Timothy N. Ogden, 2020. "Migration and household finances: How a different framing can improve thinking about migration," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 38(1), pages 3-27, January.
    6. Govinda P. Sharma & Ram Pandit & Ben White & Maksym Polyakov, 2020. "The income diversification strategies of smallholders in the hills of Nepal," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 38(6), pages 804-825, November.
    7. Sadeghi, Azin & Zhunusova, Eliza & Günter, Sven & Dieter, Matthias, 2023. "Households' livelihood in restricted forest landscapes: What is the impact of contextual factors?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    8. Michael Clemens and Timothy N. Ogden, 2014. "Migration as a Strategy for Household Finance: A Research Agenda on Remittances, Payments, and Development- Working Paper 354," Working Papers 354, Center for Global Development.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    migration; income diversification; non-farm activities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets

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