Estimating remittances in the informal sector labour market in a developing economy: A micro-level evidence on Kayayoo migrants in Kumasi, Ghana

Abstract

The study explores the determinants of informal sector migrant remittances to households in the Northern temtones of Ghana, using data on Kayayoo workers drawn from the Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana from July to September, 2009. The Tobit model is used to undertake the estimation of the remittance function. The majority of Kayayoo migrants are found to retain close links with family ties back home with 72% remitting some amount of money in the 12 months preceding the survey date. The sub-stantive findings of the study are that the monthly earnings in the Kayayoo market exert predictable effects on migrant remittances and the remitting behaviour of the internal Kayayoo migrant with regards to time spent in Kumasi suggests an inverse U-shaped relationship which is more consistent with what is obtained in the migration remittance literature. � Medwell Journals, 2011.