‘The cake is in Accra’: a case study on internal migration in Ghana

Abstract

What are the motivations for internal migration and what role does the social network of migrants play in the process of moving to a different place? In this paper, we focus on internal migration to Accra, the capital of Ghana. Previous literature has focused on either livelihood or lifestyle approaches to migration but failed to show how these dimensions are intertwined. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with twenty migrants in different areas of Accra and analysed the interviews using a relational analysis. We find that livelihood and lifestyle dimensions matter in tandem. While the main reasons for moving to Accra are related to livelihood strategies, they are reflected and performed in culturally bound lifestyles of city-life. Furthermore, we find that different ties – such as emotional or economic ties – are differently meaningful across members of the migrants’ social network throughout the migration process. Such heterogeneity appears to depend on gender and socioeconomic status.