Received: 27 July 2022 Revised: 3 November 2022 Accepted: 3 December 2022
DOI: 10.1111/rsp3.12610
OR I G I N A L A R T I C L E
Revisiting the determinants of food security: Does
regular remittance inflow play a role in Ghanaian
households? A disaggregated analysis
Kwame Adjei-Mantey1 | Millicent O. Awuku1,2 | Ruby V. Kodom3,4
1Department of Sustainable Energy and
Resources, University of Environment and Abstract
Sustainable Development, Ghana The study investigates the factors that influence food
2Department of Business Administration, security in Ghana, focusing on the role of remittances.
Ashesi University, Ghana
Employing data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey
3Department of Distance Education,
University of Ghana, Ghana (GLSS) 7, the study found that receiving remittances
4Department of Public Administration and reduces the probability of facing food insecurity by 0.4% to
Health Services Management, University of 1.2% while receiving them regularly decreases the chances
Ghana, Ghana
of experiencing food insecurity by 1.8% to 3.9%. In addi-
Correspondence tion, an analysis of the disaggregated components of remit-
Kwame Adjei-Mantey, Department of
tances shows that cash and other goods (non-food)
Sustainable Energy and Resources, University
of Environment and Sustainable remittances are negative and significantly associated with
Development, Ghana.
food insecurity. The results emphasize the importance of
Email: kadjei-mantey@uesd.edu.gh
not only cash remittances but also remittances in the form
of other non-food goods in improving food security. Policies
that will encourage the easy and regular inflow of remit-
tances will be key to enhancing food security.
K E YWORD S
food remittances, food security, Ghana, other goods remittances,
cash remittances
J E L C L A S S I F I C A T I ON
F24, F22, I31, Q18
© 2022 The Authors. Regional Science Policy & Practice © 2022 Regional Science Association International.
Reg Sci Policy Pract. 2022;1–15. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/rsp3 1
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2 ADJEI-MANTEY ET AL.
1 | INTRODUCTION
Food security is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as the condition “when all people, at all
times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO, 2009). Food security implies having access to adequate quantities
of appropriate foods, where people have the ability to purchase the food they need. It becomes clear that inherent
in the concept of food security are a number of determining factors that may be interrelated. Sustainable develop-
ment goal (SDG) 2 seeks to end hunger and achieve food security by the year 2030. The goal is to ensure that coun-
tries do not lose sight of the need to tackle the inequalities prevalent in addressing the need for food security
globally (Masa et al., 2020). This indicator tells us about poverty levels, the availability of food and people's concerns
about being able to have food in the needed quantity and of the right quality all year round. The current data reveals
that Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), is not on target to meet this goal by the year 2030. Africa remains
challenged in terms of achieving control over food security due to a number of factors such as extreme weather con-
ditions which are the result of climate change, continuous reliance on rain-fed agriculture, the absence of alternative
livelihoods and poverty (Kuuire et al., 2013; Obi et al., 2020). Khan et al. (2014) opine that this situation will worsen
due to the presence of factors such as high population growth (Africa being the continent with the youngest
population), climate change, inadequate food production and an excessively high dependence on foreign imports.
This assertion is supported by the world bank's migration and development brief No. 36, which shows that the
COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have worsened the woes of sub-Saharan Africa. Most countries in this
region are net importers of wheat, maize, oil, etc. (Ratha et al., 2022). FAO et al. (2019) report that 2 billion of the
world's population live with moderate or severe food insecurity and that hunger is a growing phenomenon in Africa.
Of the 260 million people living with hunger on the continent as of 2018, 90% were within the sub-Saharan African
(SSA) region (Ebadi et al., 2020; Karamba et al., 2011; Masa et al., 2020).
The foregoing underscores the fact that food security is an important subject of discourse on the continent and
in particular within SSA. More research is required to help address the challenge of food insecurity. This is especially
important given food security's implications for crucial sectors such as health, education and national security.
While Ghana is reported to be making good progress on some SDGs such as 12 and 13, the same cannot be said
for SDG 2, where the nation's performance is reported as “stagnating” (Sachs et al., 2022). The trends point to preva-
iling inequalities with respect to poverty and food security. The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) points out that 3% of
the labour force is engaged in agriculture as a main source of income (GSS, 2016). However, given that agriculture
remains largely small scale, rain-fed and unattractive for credit advances from financial institutions, rural communi-
ties, which are often the ones engaged in agriculture, tend to experience poverty and uncertainty about their next
meal. Thus, a significant proportion of the farming and rural population, particularly in the northern parts of Ghana,
continues to experience extreme forms of poverty and food insecurity (Zereyesus et al., 2014). For such households,
non-farm income sources such as remittances are of utmost importance in the face of challenges to the practice of
agriculture to shore up household food security. (Tsiboe et al., 2016). Remittances have been identified as an impor-
tant source of income for households, especially in developing countries, as well as foreign exchange (Ebadi
et al., 2020; Ratha et al., 2022; Sam et al., 2013). Remittances also contribute to the development of national econo-
mies since they come second to foreign direct investments in the sub-Saharan African region, in terms of financial
inflows (World Bank, 2018). The World Bank (2019) ranked Ghana the second highest recipient of international
remittances, estimated at US$ 3.5 billion in sub-Saharan Africa.
Remittances, which can be monetary or non-monetary (Ebadi et al., 2020), are usually private and affect the lives
of families (Sulemana et al., 2019). They are classified under two types: namely, domestic remittances and interna-
tional or foreign remittances. They are also categorized as cash transfers and food remittances (Crush &
Caesar, 2018). There are also remittances that households receive in the form of other goods besides food.
Ebadi et al. (2020) report that families that received domestic remittances were relatively poorer than families
that received monies from abroad. In Ghana, remittances are a key source of household income. In the 12 months
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ADJEI-MANTEY ET AL. 3
under its review, the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS) 7 report (2017) indicates that the total amount of cash
received as remittance amounted to Ghȼ 687.1 million. Out of this, over Ghȼ 384 million, representing 55.9%, were
domestic remittances (i.e., were received from migrants living within Ghana). This points to the crucial role domestic
remittances play, given that more than half of remittances received over the period were domestic.
It has been argued that remittances support the ability of households to meet their daily needs and provide
a strategy for coping with or mitigating against the effects of the shocks of economic down turns, climate change
and, presently, pandemics which impose restrictions on movement (Bhalla et al., 2018; Ogunniyi et al., 2020;
Tarasuk et al., 2016). There have, however, not been enough studies to show the impact of remittances on food
security directly. Ebadi et al. (2020) suggest that the study area of remittances and how they influence food secu-
rity has not been fully explored, especially within the sub-Saharan African region. This study seeks to make
advances towards remedying this gap in literature by delving into an analysis of the relationship between regular
remittances and food security in Ghana using the most recent national survey, the GLSS 7. The study also seeks
to expand the literature by contributing to findings on the role of domestic remittances as a determinant for food
security.
The existing literature generally confirms that scholarly interest in the area of remittances and food security has
arisen in recent times, with most literature drawing a nexus between migration, remittances and food security or by
extension development. This is consistent with the growing impetus that the concept has taken on worldwide, since
cash transfers have witnessed sustained growth in the last twenty years (Crush & Caesar, 2018; Ratha et al., 2022).
In 2021, global remittances to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are reported as US$ 605 billion (Ratha
et al., 2022). This reflects an increase in flows despite the global economic challenges which face the world as a
result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ebadi et al. (2018) considered the impact of remittances on the food security status in the Global South. The
researchers sought to confirm whether the positive association between remittances and food security was present
in all the sampled countries on the basis of data from the 2017 World Gallup poll. Their study concluded that Africa,
and more specifically sub-Saharan Africa, has the highest number of food-insecure people in the world. According to
them, the determinants of food security in Africa include climate change, agricultural output, family income, conflicts
and insecurity. Remittances showed a positive association with food security and were confirmed to be a critical
source of stable incomes for households.
Ebadi et al. (2020) again used data from the 2014–2017 Gallup World Poll to investigate the relationship
between food security status and the receipt of remittances. They found that households that received domestic
remittances are relatively more food insecure when compared with households that received remittances from inter-
national sources. They confirm that remittances are critical for families that face financial difficulties, and they are
used to meet routine expenses, which include spending on education, training, health and buying consumer goods.
Thus, they found that receiving remittances was a determinant of food security. The GLSS 7 (2017) report, which
reveals that remittances from domestic sources are crucial in Ghana, may be a useful indicator for food security
among Ghanaian households, as Ebadi et al. (2020) have found that remittances from domestic sources may have a
role to play in household food security analysis.
Sulemana et al. (2019) expanded the existing literature by focusing their investigations into the relationship
between remittances and food security in 32 countries in the sub-Saharan African region. Apart from widening the
scope in terms of study participation and generalization of application, they also explored the frequency of remit-
tances and whether this affects the food security status of households. The study enriches the discourse on the sub-
ject by leveraging previous studies which concluded that sub-Saharan Africa was experiencing an increase in food
insecurity levels. The key takeaway from their study is that, beyond the positive effect that remittances have on
household food security, it is more crucial that attention is paid to the frequency or regularity of these cash
transfers.
Kuuire et al. (2013) sought to study the ways in which food remittances impacted recipient households in Ghana
as a developing nation. They used households in the Upper West Region of Ghana as a representative sample.
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4 ADJEI-MANTEY ET AL.
According to them poverty is linked to growing food insecurity, hence their choice of the vulnerability framework as
a theoretical grounding for their study. Theirs was a qualitative study which allowed them to explore the importance
of food remittances in the face of environmental change and poverty. They found that households are unable to pro-
vide adequate food to meet the dietary needs of their families all year round and that rural poor families in Ghana
rely on food remittances as a means of managing the insecurity they experience when it comes to food and nutrition.
Remittance inflows are found to be essential for navigating the constraints imposed by the effects of climate change
and delayed advances with respect to modern agriculture. They arrive at the conclusion that food remittances are
critical for coping with the uncertainties around food availability and the shocks of high food prices during the lean
season. The prevailing knowledge posits that remittances are used primarily for household expenditure related to
food, clothing and shelter (Sumata & Cohen, 2018).
Atuoye et al. (2017) investigated the relationship between residential remittances and food security in the Upper
West Region of Ghana. Their findings show that food security is influenced by migration and remittances. According
to that study, remittances are not leading to food security among poorer households, thus emphasizing the deep
effects that persistent socio-economic inequalities present. Thus, such poor families depend on remittances to meet
their basic daily needs. This finding agrees with the findings of Karamba et al. (2011), which reveal that remittances
are not necessarily a shock absorber where poverty and the effects of economic instability are concerned. Atuoye
et al. (2017) concluded that there is the need for a national food security policy which incorporates dynamic
approaches to farming and the creation of alternative livelihoods which support the development of local economies.
Kuuire et al. (2013) studied the impact of remittances as a shock absorber against poverty and environmental
change, and Atuoye et al. (2017) studied the relationship between residential or domestic remittances and food secu-
rity. With a focus on migration as a result of increasing urbanization and an awareness of the food insecurity problem
faced by not only rural dwellers but urban settlers, as well, Atuoye et al. (2017) broadened their scope to take into
account the experiences of both rural and urban populations within the Upper West Region of Ghana. To achieve
this, they made use of the New Economic and Labour Migration discourse. This allowed the authors to analyse
migration from a more holistic view where existing structural and agency factors are considered to see how they
inform migration and, by extension, food remittances to improve food security. They found that both rural and urban
dwellers who were poor and food insecure benefitted from food remittances, especially in the seasons of food
shortages.
In summary, the limited studies done suggest that, generally, remittances have a positive effect on household
food security (Atuoye et al., 2017; Ebadi et al., 2020; Sam et al., 2013; Sulemana et al., 2019). However, the scope of
the existing literature suggests that a country-level study is necessary. Ebadi et al. (2018), for instance, posit that,
though their multi-country study found that remittances might influence food security positively, the association
may not hold for each of the countries in the sample. Thus, our study focusing on Ghana, with its ability to capture
the effects of the country's unique economic and social features, will complement the literature and enhance insights
into the relationship between remittances and food security in Ghana. This is especially important in our case
because a previous related study on Ghana (Karamba et al., 2011) found no significant effect between migration and
food consumption of migrant-sending households. In addition, our study adds to the literature on the subject matter,
which is relatively scant compared with the literature available on other social and economic issues and is still a
developing area of research.
To this end, this study seeks to examine the relationship between remittance inflows and food security in
Ghana. Our objective is to investigate the association between domestic remittances and food security among
Ghanaian households, focusing more on the regularity of remittance inflows. Furthermore, we aim to conduct a dis-
aggregated analysis by disaggregating remittances into different forms to examine their individual effects on food
security. We contribute to the literature in at least three ways. First, this study not only focuses on the value of
remittances that households receive but also investigates how the regularity of receiving these remittances may
affect their food security situation. This feature of ‘regularity of receiving remittances’ is not common with previous
studies. Therefore, examining it in this study fills that gap in the literature. Secondly, we conduct a disaggregated
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ADJEI-MANTEY ET AL. 5
analysis of remittances received in the same study. Previous studies focus either on cash remittances or food remit-
tances. Our study goes further to observe the separate associations of cash remittances, food remittances and remit-
tances in the form of other goods with the food security situation of households. By doing this, we contribute to the
literature in understanding which remittance form tends to have a greater and more significant association with
household food (in)security. Furthermore, the scant studies done on Ghana have focused on particular regions or
communities mostly in northern Ghana, without the use of national-level data that allows for a holistic analysis
(see Atuoye et al., 2017; Kuuire et al., 2013). By employing data that covers a nationally representative sample, we
provide an analysis that could reflect the Ghanaian situation more comprehensively.
2 | DATA AND METHODOLOGY
2.1 | Data
This study uses data from the seventh and latest round of an official statistical survey, the Ghana Living Standards
Survey (GLSS 7). The living standards surveys are nationwide household-level surveys that collect data on demo-
graphics and economic and social variables. They remain the most comprehensive source of household-level data in
Ghana relative to scope and coverage. The surveys are conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), Ghana's
official statistics bureau. The sampling frame consists of persons living in private households but excludes the popu-
lation in institutions such as hospitals and schools. The enumeration areas (EAs) for the survey are stratified into the
administrative regions.1 The survey for GLSS 7 began in September 2016 and ended in October 2017, covering
14,000 households. The GSS adopted a two-stage stratified random sampling design. In the first stage, 1,000 EAs
were selected to cover the 10 regions. The second stage involved the sampling of households in these EAs. A nation-
ally representative sample of 15,000 households was selected, out of which 14,009 responded to the survey. Sum-
mary statistics of the variables included in this study are shown in Table 1.
2.2 | Theoretical framework and empirical methodology
We estimate the association between regular remittance inflows and household food security status. Our analyses
are conducted on the basis of the permanent income theory of consumption by Friedman (1957). According to the
theory, individuals consume based on expected average long-term income (permanent income), demonstrated math-
ematically as follows:
C¼ aYP, ð1Þ
where C is consumption, YP is permanent income and a is the fraction of permanent income spent on consumption.
Furthermore, Friedman (1957) argued that transitory income is not likely to have a significant influence on consump-
tion. According to Friedman (1957), permanent income comprised both labour income and non-labour income, which
in the context of this study would include remittances received. From the theoretical perspective, remittances can
influence consumption in several ways. For instance, remittances can reduce budget constraints and smoothen indi-
viduals' consumption patterns (Taylor et al., 2003). Remittances could also translate into food security by serving as
a hedge against likely emergencies and economic shocks (Gubert, 2002; Poirine, 1997; Stark & Levhari, 1982)
as well as enhancing savings and investments that allow recipient households to be more self-sufficient
1Since 2019, new regions have been created in Ghana by re-demarcating previous regional boundaries. Consequently, the total number of regions in
Ghana now stands at 16. The regional effects included in this study are done on the basis of the 10 regions that existed at the time of the survey, in
2016/2017.
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6 ADJEI-MANTEY ET AL.
TABLE 1 Variables and definitions
Variables Definition
Food insecurity (any indicator) Dummy (1 = food insecurity by an experience of at least one indicator; otherwise, 0)
Food insecurity (moderate to Dummy (1 = food insecurity by an experience of at least four indicators;
severe) otherwise, 0)
Food insecurity (severe) Dummy (1 = food insecurity by an experience of at least six indicators; otherwise, 0)
Total remittances Continuous (value of total domestic remittances received in all forms in Ghȼ ‘000)
Regularity Dummy (1 = remittance received regularly; otherwise, 0)
Ln of household expenditure Continuous (log of household expenditure)
Education of household head Categorical (4 = tertiary; 3 = secondary; 2 = junior high/middle school; 1 = primary;
0 = no formal education)
Household size Continuous (household size)
Location Dummy (1 = urban; otherwise, 0)
Gender of head of household Dummy (1 = male; otherwise, 0)
Food remittance Continuous (value of domestic food remittances received in Ghȼ ‘000)
Cash remittance Continuous (value of domestic cash remittances received in Ghȼ ‘000)
Other goods remittance Continuous (value of domestic remittances received in the form of other goods in
Ghȼ ‘000)
(Cox & Jimenez, 1992; Lucas & Stark, 1985; Yang, 2008). Finally, it has been postulated that the migration experi-
ence could sensitize individuals as to the need to improve the general wellbeing of their relatives who were left
behind, for which reason they might send remittances (Cox-Edwards & Ureta, 2003; Stark, 1991; Stark &
Lucas, 1988; Djaji
c, 1986). Adapting this theory to our analyses, receiving regular remittances forms part of the per-
manent income of households, and thus we test empirically how that might influence their consumption of food and,
consequently, their food security status. Based on the foregoing, we specify a model for the probability of experienc-
ing food insecurity as follows:
Food insecurity experiencei ¼ β0þβ1Riþβ2RRiþβ3Xiþεi, ð2Þ
where R is the value of remittances received in Ghana cedis (Ghȼ), RR represents whether remittances are received
regularly or otherwise and X is a vector of relevant control variables. Regular receipt means that households received
remittances on a regular basis at specified intervals of time as opposed to one time or isolated cases of receiving a
remittance. On the basis that there are different forms of remittances as identified in the literature (Crush &
Caesar, 2018), this study disaggregates remittances to examine their individual effects. To observe the effect of spe-
cific remittances on food security, we disaggregate R in Equation (2) into three components: the food remittance,
cash remittance and other goods remittance. The values (in Ghana cedis) of food remittance, cash remittance and
other goods remittance are used to replace R in Equation (2) as follows:
Food insecurity experiencei ¼ β0þβ1FRiþβ2CRiþβ3ORiþβ4RRiþβ5Xiþεi, ð3Þ
where FR, CR and OR represent the values in cedis of food remittance, cash remittance and other goods remittance,
respectively.
Food security is measured by calculating three binary variables as indicators of food insecurity, following the
FAO's Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). In the GLSS 7 survey, respondents were asked eight dichotomous
choice questions following the FAO on feeding experiences in the 12 months preceding the survey to indicate their
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ADJEI-MANTEY ET AL. 7
level of food (in)security.2 These questions require either a yes (1) or no (0) response. First, the FIES raw score is cal-
culated as the sum of a respondent's responses to each question, after which three food insecurity experiences are
computed as defined by FAO (2015) as follows: any indicator of food insecurity is equal to 1 if the raw score is at
least 1, otherwise 0; moderate-to-severe food insecurity is equal to 1 if the raw score is at least 4, otherwise 0; and
severe food insecurity is equal to 1 if the raw score is at least 7, otherwise 0 (FAO, 2015). Thus, we end up with
three different food insecurity experience categories: any food insecurity indicator, moderate-to-severe food insecu-
rity, and severe food insecurity. The left-hand side of Equations (2) and (3) are therefore represented by each of
these food insecurity variables. Thus, Equations (2) and (3) are each estimated thrice, with the dependent variables in
the three estimations being the three food insecurity variables.
Equations (2) and (3) are estimated by linear probability modelling with region fixed effects to account for
regional heterogeneities. Even though the logit or probit has been widely used to estimate binary dependent vari-
ables, there is bias associated with using them in the presence of fixed effects (Greene, 2002). Thus, following
Bellemare et al. (2015), we adopt the linear probability model (LPM) to estimate Equations (2) and (3). The coeffi-
cients from the LPM represent changes in probability without further transformation as in the case of the logit or
probit. There is the possibility of confounding but unobservable factors in households' receiving remittances. That is,
there could be factors that influence the receipt of remittances that might also influence food insecurity but are
unobservable from the data, and hence we are unable to account for them. However, given the practical difficulty in
obtaining a valid and relevant instrument to account for this, our results best explain the association between regular
remittance inflows and food insecurity. Table 1 describes the variables used in the study and their definitions.
3 | ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
3.1 | Summary statistics
Table 2 presents the summary statistics for the variables used in the study. The average value of total remittances
received was Ghȼ 827.3 Food remittances averaged Ghȼ 85, and cash remittances averaged Ghȼ 685, while other
goods remittances averaged Ghȼ57. With regard to the regularity of remittances, 58% of the respondents received
remittances regularly. Of the households, 71% had experienced at least one indicator of food insecurity (i.e., any food
insecurity), while 52.5% and 27% experienced moderate-to-severe food insecurity and severe food insecurity,
respectively. Regarding the socio-demographic characteristics, on average, 31.8%, 28.9%, 13.7% and 6.2% of heads
of households had primary, junior high/middle school, secondary and tertiary levels of education, respectively. This
shows that, on average, a majority of the respondents had attained relatively lower levels of education. About 58%
of the respondents reside in rural areas while the average household size is approximately 4. Further analysis of the
data showed that a large proportion of remittances came from urban areas, as expected. Remittances received from
urban areas to urban areas accounted for 40% of remittances received, while remittances from urban areas to rural
areas accounted for 44.5%. Remittances from rural areas to rural areas accounted for 13.3%, while remittances from
rural areas to urban areas accounted for only 2.2% of remittances received.
3.2 | Remittances, regularity of inflows and food security
Table 3 reports results from the linear probability model regression of remittances, regularity of remittance inflows
and other covariates on food insecurity. Models 1, 2 and 3 represent the three different food insecurity experience
2The eight questions related to food security have been provided in the appendix (Table A1)
3The exchange rate averaged US$ 1.00:Ghȼ 4.4 in 2017
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8 ADJEI-MANTEY ET AL.
TABLE 2 Summary statistics
Variable Observations Mean Standard deviation Min Max
Food insecurity (any indicator) 6,961 0.714 0.452 0 1
Food insecurity (moderate to severe) 6,961 0.525 0.499 0 1
Food insecurity (severe) 6,961 0.270 0.444 0 1
Food remittances (Ghȼ ‘000) 6,961 0.085 0.302 0 8.4
Cash remittances (Ghȼ ‘000) 6,961 0.685 2.467 0 100
Other goods remittances (Ghȼ ‘000) 6,961 0.057 0.349 0 15
Total remittances (Ghȼ ‘000) 6,961 0.827 2.582 0 100
Regularity (1 = regular) 6,961 0.580 0.494 0 1
Ln of household expenditure 6,961 8.897 0.800 4.592 11.876
Education
Primary 6,961 0.318 0.466 0 1
Junior high/middle school 6,961 0.289 0.453 0 1
Secondary 6,961 0.137 0.344 0 1
Tertiary 6,961 0.062 0.242 0 1
Household size 6,961 4.002 2.807 1 25
Location (1 = urban) 6,961 0.426 0.495 0 1
Gender of household head (1 = male) 6,961 0.528 0.499 0 1
TABLE 3 Linear probability results: Probability of food insecurity
(1) (2) (3)
VARIABLES Food insecurity (any Food insecurity (moderate to Food insecurity
indicator) severe) (severe)
Total remittances received 0.012*** (0.002) 0.008*** (0.002) 0.004*** (0.001)
(Ghȼ ‘000)
Regularity (1 = regular) 0.039*** (0.010) 0.035*** (0.011) 0.018* (0.010)
Ln of household expenditure 0.114*** (0.008) 0.130*** (0.008) 0.093*** (0.008)
Primary 0.021 (0.013) 0.052*** (0.015) 0.080*** (0.015)
Junior high/middle school 0.065*** (0.014) 0.073*** (0.016) 0.097*** (0.016)
Secondary 0.133*** (0.018) 0.134*** (0.020) 0.123*** (0.018)
Tertiary 0.195*** (0.026) 0.204*** (0.025) 0.154*** (0.021)
Household size 0.021*** (0.002) 0.028*** (0.002) 0.020*** (0.002)
Location (1 = urban) 0.035*** (0.012) 0.036*** (0.013) 0.003 (0.011)
Gender of household head 0.061*** (0.011) 0.081*** (0.011) 0.041*** (0.010)
(1 = male)
Constant 1.651*** (0.073) 1.555*** (0.076) 1.006*** (0.072)
Region fixed effects Yes Yes Yes
Observations 6,961 6,961 6,961
R-squared 0.189 0.209 0.205
Notes: Robust standard errors in parentheses.
***p < 0.01.**p < 0.05.*p < 0.1.
 17577802, 0, Downloaded from https://rsaiconnect.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rsp3.12610 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [19/01/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
ADJEI-MANTEY ET AL. 9
categories: any food insecurity indicator, moderate-to-severe food insecurity and severe food insecurity,
respectively.
The results from Table 3 indicate that total remittances have a significant negative relationship with food inse-
curity. This means that receiving a higher value of remittance reduces the probability of being food insecure. Spe-
cifically, a Ghȼ 1,000 increase in remittances is associated with a reduction in any food insecurity, moderate-to-
severe food insecurity and severe food insecurity by 1.2%, 0.8% and 0.4% respectively. Furthermore, the study
found a significant negative relationship between the regularity of remittances and food insecurity. Compared with
those who do not receive regular remittances, those who do are about 3.9%, 3.5% and 1.8% less likely to have any
indicator of food insecurity, moderate-to-severe food insecurity and severe food insecurity, respectively. This find-
ing supports that of Sulemana et al. (2019). It could be attributed to the fact that households that receive regular
remittances are likely to augment their household income, which helps them improve their food security situation
(De & Ratha, 2012; Regmi & Paudel, 2016). According to Regmi and Paudel (2016), food security is related to pov-
erty. Therefore, as long as the receipt of remittances improves the household poverty situation, overall food secu-
rity for households can be improved. In addition, remittances could lessen the effect of economic shocks on the
wellbeing of households (Regmi & Paudel, 2017) and thus could explain why remittances reduce the likelihood of
experiencing food insecurity. The finding could also be linked to the permanent income theory by Friedman (1957).
That is, those who receive regular remittances regard them as part of their permanent income, and those who do
not receive remittances regularly could consider it as transitory income. Therefore, as explained earlier, those who
receive the remittances regularly are likely to have an improved food security situation, while one-time or isolated
cases of remittances are less likely to improve households' food security situation significantly since they are
transitory.
Advancement in educational attainments decreases the chances of food insecurity, which was significant in all
the models. Furthermore, the absolute value of the coefficient of education increases with each level of education.
Heads of households with secondary education are less likely to experience food insecurity by between 12.3% and
13.4% compared with those with no formal education, while those with tertiary education are between 15.4% to
20.4% less likely to experience food insecurity compared with those with no formal education. Those with higher
education are more likely to have higher incomes than those with lower educational attainments, as poverty is more
prevalent among those with no level or low levels of education (Regmi & Paudel, 2016; 2017). The higher incomes
could be used in food consumption, thus reducing the likelihood of experiencing food insecurity. The finding con-
firms the works of Mora-Rivera and van Gameren (2021), Sulemana et al. (2019), Abdullah et al. (2019), and Ebadi
et al. (2018). It is also in line with Mango et al. (2014), who found that food security increased among households
with literate heads.
A 1% increase in the spending of a household, used as a proxy for household income, decreases the likelihood of
that household having any indicator of food insecurity, moderate-to-severe food insecurity and severe food insecu-
rity by 0.11, 0.13 and 0.09, respectively. This confirms the study by Habtewold (2018), who found that households
that owned more assets had higher tendencies of being food secure than those who owned no or fewer assets.
Smith et al. (2017) also found lower food security in countries with low levels of GDP per capita. This is also attribut-
able to the fact that higher levels of income are associated with a greater ability to buy more food as well as other
goods that improve health and general wellbeing, which has the potential of improving food security (Barrett, 2002).
Without adequate income, people cannot obtain the food they need. At one point or another, not having enough
funds implies that one may have to consume cheaper meals or fewer meals in a day. This has implications for dietary
needs, rendering them partially met or unmet.
The location of a household has a significant relationship with having any indicator of food insecurity and
moderate-to-severe food insecurity but not severe food insecurity. Compared with rural areas, people in the urban
areas had lower chances of being food insecure. This confirms the existence of overall urban–rural inequalities in
Ghana, as observed in other countries, and hence food insecurity should not be addressed or treated homogenously
for households in different locations (eg., Sahn & Stifel, 2003; Thu Le & Booth, 2014). Our finding is in line with
 17577802, 0, Downloaded from https://rsaiconnect.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rsp3.12610 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [19/01/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
10 ADJEI-MANTEY ET AL.
Ebadi et al. (2018) but contradicts the work of Smith et al. (2017), who suggested that being in a rural or urban area
does not matter for food security.
Household size represents the household's consumption level needs and the associated burden involved in feed-
ing its members. The study revealed that an increase in household size has a positive and significant effect on food
insecurity. Larger households face a higher “burden to feed” and, hence, are more probable to be food insecure
(Gebre, 2012; Mango et al., 2014; Mitiku et al., 2012).
The findings show that male-headed households were less likely to be food insecure. This means that females
have a higher probability of experiencing any form of food insecurity than males. This be due to the fact that most
females in the relationship have little power over household resource and food allocation (Quisumbing &
Pandolfelli, 2010). Females also have lower income levels due to the lower positions they occupy in the labour mar-
ket as well as the inability to invest in their own skills and education due to caretaking responsibilities in the home
(Selepe et al., 2015). This is consistent with the works of Adjei-Mantey et al. (2022), Negesse et al. (2020) and Selepe
et al. (2015). Nonetheless, it contradicts studies by Silvestri et al. (2015) and Mallick and Rafi (2010), in which no sig-
nificant relationship was found which could be the case when both males and females have the freedom to partici-
pate in the labour market without any social and cultural restrictions.
3.3 | Disaggregated analysis of different remittance forms
Next, we perform a disaggregated analysis to ascertain how different forms of remittances relate to food insecurity.
Table 4 reports the results of the disaggregated components of remittances on food insecurity. It shows that
cash and other goods remittances are negative and significantly associated with food insecurity, but food remit-
tances, though negative, were not significant. While the insignificance of the association between food remittances
and food insecurity may be a curious finding, it is plausible. This is because receiving food remittances does not nec-
essarily imply receiving the preferred kinds of foods or foods that carry the nutritional value required by the recipi-
ent, thereby not contributing significantly to the household's food insecurity experience since the questions used to
measure the FIES include questions on eating different kinds of foods and foods with the nutrients required by the
household. Specifically, the results reveal that a Ghȼ 1000 increase in the value of cash and other goods remittances
is associated with a 1.1% and 3.2% decrease in the chances of having any indicator of food insecurity, respectively.
A Ghȼ 1000 increase in the value of cash and other goods remittances decreases the probability of being moderately
to severely food insecure by 0.7% and 2.1%, respectively. Severe food insecurity is significantly associated with cash
remittances only. A Ghȼ 1000 increase in cash remittances reduces the likelihood of severe food insecurity by 0.4%.
Other remittance forms have no significant association with severe food insecurity. What this implies is that severe
food insecurity, which occurs when the household is deprived in almost all or all of the indicators, can only be signifi-
cantly mitigated by cash remittances per the findings of this study. Studies by Mora-Rivera and van Gameren (2021),
Moniruzzaman (2022) and Rahman and Mishra (2020) have shown that remittances in the form of income improve
food security, as demonstrated in this study. The magnitudes of the coefficient for the different forms of remittances
were highest for other goods remittance. Thus, while remittances are often discussed in the context of cash receipts,
our results show that non-cash remittances in the form of other goods received by households appear to be an
important factor that can influence household food insecurity. Households could allocate their own funds to meeting
dietary or food needs since other needs might have been met with the receipt of non-cash (other goods) remittances.
Hence, the importance of remittances in non-cash forms such as other goods remittances cannot be underestimated.
Other covariates such as household expenditure, location (urban), gender (male heads) and education maintain their
negative and significant relationship with all forms of food insecurity, while household size maintains its significant
positive association with food insecurity in the disaggregated analysis.
In summary, our results show that remittances could play an important role in households' food insecurity sta-
tuses, particularly when the remittances are received regularly. Furthermore, we show that, in addition to cash
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ADJEI-MANTEY ET AL. 11
TABLE 4 Linear probability results: Probability of food insecurity, disaggregated analysis
(1) (2) (3)
VARIABLES Food insecurity (any Food insecurity (moderate to Food insecurity
indicator) severe) (severe)
Food remittances (Ghȼ ‘000) 0.008 (0.018) 0.018 (0.018) 0.005 (0.011)
Cash remittances (Ghȼ ‘000) 0.011*** (0.002) 0.007*** (0.002) 0.004*** (0.001)
Other goods remittances (Ghȼ 0.032* (0.017) 0.021** (0.010) 0.012 (0.007)
‘000)
Regularity (1 = regular) 0.039*** (0.010) 0.034*** (0.011) 0.017* (0.010)
Ln of household expenditure 0.113*** (0.008) 0.129*** (0.008) 0.092*** (0.008)
Primary 0.021 (0.013) 0.052*** (0.015) 0.080*** (0.015)
Junior high/middle school 0.065*** (0.014) 0.074*** (0.016) 0.097*** (0.016)
Secondary 0.133*** (0.018) 0.134*** (0.020) 0.123*** (0.018)
Tertiary 0.195*** (0.026) 0.205*** (0.025) 0.154*** (0.021)
Household size 0.020*** (0.002) 0.028*** (0.002) 0.020*** (0.002)
Location (1 = urban) 0.035*** (0.012) 0.036*** (0.013) 0.003 (0.011)
Gender of household head 0.060*** (0.011) 0.081*** (0.011) 0.040*** (0.010)
(1 = male)
Constant 1.646*** (0.073) 1.551*** (0.076) 1.004*** (0.072)
Region fixed effects Yes Yes Yes
Observations 6,961 6,961 6,961
R-squared 0.189 0.209 0.205
Notes: Robust standard errors in parentheses.
***p < 0.01.**p < 0.05.*p < 0.1.
remittances, other goods remittances are also important in promoting food security among Ghanaian households
and, by extension, households in developing countries.
4 | CONCLUSION AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS
This study assessed the factors that influence food security in Ghana, employing data from the GLSS 7. The study
showed that an increase in remittances of cash and other goods is associated with being more food secure. In dis-
aggregating remittances, the study found that the magnitudes of the coefficient differed, with other goods remit-
tance having the higher. This emphasizes the significance of non-cash remittances in improving food security. In
addition, improvement in food security is associated with the frequency of remittances. Regular remittances have a
more significant association with food security than one-time or isolated receipts of remittances. Thus, the study
demonstrates that remittances could play an important role in attaining Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3 on
ending hunger and in achieving food security and improved nutrition, as well as ensuring healthy living and promot-
ing wellbeing for all ages. The implications of the findings are varied. Policies to ease not only remittance inflows but
also regular inflows of these remittances will ultimately lead to improved food security among Ghanaian households
and thus ought to be encouraged. We recommend that policymakers encourage the regular inflow of remittances by
reducing transaction and operational costs. Promoting competition in remittance services, enhancing regulation to
ease the processes involved and having a responsive financial sector could be starting points for easing the inflow of
remittances. This will complement the government's own efforts at ensuring adequate food security, which it is
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12 ADJEI-MANTEY ET AL.
currently undertaking through its food security policy known as Planting for Food and Jobs. Furthermore, we recom-
mend that policies to promote higher education attainment and those that increase household incomes should be
pursued, given their positive correlation with food security. The findings also have implications for the theory of per-
manent income, as it provides the empirical basis to support the theory. Households receiving regular remittances
count on these to improve their consumption. The study might be limited by the inability to account for a variable
such as land ownership which could potentially influence the food insecurity experience of households due to data
constraints. We recommend that future studies attempt to empirically test the impact pathways from remittances
received to food security to increase the knowledge on this subject.
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Data for this study can be accessed at www.statsghana.gov.gh.
ORCID
Kwame Adjei-Mantey https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2609-7739
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How to cite this article: Adjei-Mantey, K., Awuku, M. O., & Kodom, R. V. (2022). Revisiting the determinants
of food security: Does regular remittance inflow play a role in Ghanaian households? A disaggregated
analysis. Regional Science Policy & Practice, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/rsp3.12610
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ADJEI-MANTEY ET AL. 15
APPENDIX A
TABLE A1 Food-security-related questions from GLSS 7
Number During the last 12 months:
1 Was there a time when you or others in your household worried about not having enough food to eat
because of a lack of money or other resources?
2 Still thinking about the last 12 MONTHS, was there a time when you or others in your household were
unable to eat healthy and nutritious food because of a lack of money or other resources?
3 Was there a time when you or others in your household ate only a few kinds of foods because of a lack of
money or other resources?
4 Was there a time when you or others in your household had to skip a meal because there was not enough
money or other resources to get food?
5 Still thinking about the last 12 MONTHS, was there a time when you or others in your household ate less
than you thought you should because of a lack of money or other resources?
6 Was there a time when your household ran out of food because of a lack of money or other resources?
7 Was there a time when you or others in your household were hungry but did not eat because there was
not enough money or other resources for food?
8 Was there a time when you or others in your household went without eating for a whole day because of a
lack of money or other resources?
Source: GLSS 7.
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