Diasporas, Development and Transnational integration:

Ghanaians in the U.S., U.K. and Germany

Manuel Orozco, principal investigator, with research collaboration from Micah Bump, Rachel Fedewa and Katya Sienkiewicz

Institute for the Study of International Migration

and Inter-American Dialogue

October 23, 2005

Report commissioned by Citizen International through the U.S. Agency for International Development

Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 Research Methodology..................................................................................................... 2

1. Diasporas, migration, development and transnationalism ................................................. 4 Considerations on diasporas, transnationalism and development...................................... 4 The Ghanaian diaspora .................................................................................................... 6 Demographic profiles....................................................................................................... 7

2. Remittances to Ghana: trends and patterns.................................................................... 10 Sending money home: amounts, rationales, length, and beneficiaries.............................. 10 Cost of sending money: methods, and transaction costs................................................. 13

3. Macro economic issues and determinants of remittances................................................ 16 4. Diaspora ties through the 5Ts: calling, visiting and feeling in touch................................ 20 5. From remittances to financial intermediation.................................................................. 24

Financial relationships in Ghana..................................................................................... 26 Financial obligations in the host country ........................................................................ 28

6. From remittances to donations: Ghanaian HTAs ........................................................... 29 Membership ................................................................................................................... 32 Activities........................................................................................................................ 33 Fundraising .................................................................................................................... 35 Collaborative Partners.................................................................................................... 36 Perceived Benefits of HTA Projects............................................................................... 36 Future Projects............................................................................................................... 36

7. Challenges and opportunities: Leveraging remittances for development ......................... 37 Determining the level of engagement and commitment to the homeland....................... 38 Leveraging efforts with the diaspora and development................................................... 39

References.......................................................................................................................... 45 Appendix I: The Ghanaian population in the United States................................................ 47

1

Introduction

Migration and development intersect vis-à-vis family remittances. The movement of people,

transformed into modern day diasporas or transnational migrant groups, influences

economic growth by virtue of the range of economic relationships fostered with the

homeland. The Ghanaian diaspora is a critical model and case study demonstrating the

impact that migrant economic relationships – in particular those that concern remittances –

have on the home country. As remittance senders, Ghanaians are shown to remit in large

amounts and on a regular basis. Their commitment is solidly associated with immediate

relatives who benefit from these funds over an extended period of time. Unlike other

diasporas whose remittance tends to decline over time, Ghanaians tend to remit more the

longer they remain abroad.

This study reviews trends and patterns, as well as the impact of remittances in Ghana, by

analyzing the extent to which Ghanaians maintain economic relationships with their home

country. An important argument validated in this report is that the Ghanaian diaspora

exhibit two key traits. First, Ghanaians are deeply transnational agents in the sense that their

ties and obligations occur in both Ghana and their country of residence. Second, their

attachment to the homeland is overtly manifested not only in remittance sending, but also

through concrete material objects: investment, the purchase of homes and giving. For

example, half of Ghanaians have a real estate obligation in Ghana, which itself is informed

by various factors such as family, community and financial ties. The level of engagement and

commitment to such relationships offer clues as to opportunities for leveraging these

economic interactions, and calls attention to the operationalization of concrete strategies that

can leverage remittance transfers for development activities.

The report is divided into seven sections. The first section overviews the Ghanaian diaspora

and the demographic characteristics of its remittance senders. Section two reviews features

and attributes of remittance transfers to Ghana. Section three focuses on the interplay

between micro and macro economic remittance trends. Section four analyzes Ghanaian

remittances within the context of the 5Ts (transfer of Remittances, tourism, nostalgic trade,

telecommunications and transportation) while section five pays attention to the issue of

2

financial intermediation. Section six analyzes the issue and impact of community donations

made by hometown associations. Finally, the report concludes with an overall validation of

trends associated with Ghanaian diaspora engagement with and commitment to the

homeland, and offers some recommendations for policy action and implementation

achievable in the short term.

Research Methodology The research methodology applied to this study consisted of conducting three country

survey studies in the U.S., the U.K. and Germany. The cities where surveys were conducted

were New York, New Jersey, and Washington, DC in the U.S., London in the U.K. and

Frankfurt, Germany.

The survey contained more than thirty questions touching on topics of remittances, finances,

connection to the family, and demographic attributes. The sample size of this survey

included 986 migrant remittance senders, 842 of which were Ghanaians and, for comparative

purposes, 144 migrants from other West African countries (see Table 1 below).

Table 1: Sample composition of the survey Frequency Percent GHANA 842 85 NIGERIA 130 13 BURKINA FASO 5 0.5 COTE D'IVOIRE 2 0.2 TOGO 7 0.7 Total 986 100 Frequency Percent Germany 241 24 UK 295 30 USA 450 46 Total 986 100

The study also included thirty interviews with leaders of Ghanaian hometown associations in

the U.S.. Some of these interviews were conducted in person, others over the phone.

Furthermore, available literature on Ghanaian migrants and diasporas was also incorporated

into the analysis.

3

We thank the research team who participated in various sections of this project. Katya

Sienkiewicz conducted interviews with HTAs, Micah Bump helped coordinate the surveys

and drafted the U.S. demographic Census section, and Rachel Fedewa helped in the analysis

of sections 4 and 6.

4

1. Diasporas, migration, development and transnationalism

Considerations on diasporas, transnationalism and development

The intersection between transnationalism and development is becoming increasingly

recognized. At the center of such intersecting dynamics are foreign investment and trade;

both key factors identified as critical engines of growth and modernity. However, more

recently scholars and policy makers, as well as diaspora groups, have come to acknowledge

and assert that another important actor, the diaspora or migrant more generally, is at the

core of the transnational global landscape. This link is associated with the social, cultural,

political and economic interactions that foreign-born individuals have with their homeland,

and which engenders a web of transformations within countries’ economies and societies.

This contemporary global landscape is organized along the lines of the interplay between

micro and macro dynamics that creates what Rosenau calls ‘distant proximities’, experiences

that simultaneously integrate and fragment relationships within and outside territorial

boundaries (Rosenau, 2003). Immigrants are key protagonists of globalization and

emblematic of distant proximities: while their lives are fragmented by the experience of

migration, which separates them from their family and nation, it is through their labor

mobility that they are able to integrate their home and host countries into the global

economy and thereby keep their family together. The end result is a transnational lifestyle,

characterized by both opportunities and hardships that feature this paradox of distance and

closeness. Transnational migrants are, to a large extent, present day diasporas.1

In contemporary transnational migrant communities, diasporic involvement can range from

the exclusive maintenance of family ties in the homeland to the establishment of political

connections. Elsewhere, we have discussed that “diasporas do not emerge solely as a

consequence of dispersion, common national ancestry, or simply any kind of connection.

There is a process by which groups are motivated or influenced to become diasporas”

1 Gabriel Sheffer defines diasporas as a “socio-political formation, created as a result of either voluntary or forced migration, whose members regard themselves as of the same ethno-national origin and who permanently reside as minorities in one or several host countries. Members of such entities maintain regular or occasional contacts with what they regard as their homeland and with individuals and groups of the same background residing in other host countries” (Sheffer 2003:10-11).

5

(Orozco 2005a). Case study research on Latinos and their links to their homelands indicate

that four critical factors enable the formation of a group into a diaspora. These are:

1. The level of community – and particularly elite and activist – consciousness about

the need or desire for link with the homeland,

2. The homeland’s perceptions of emigrants,

3. The outreach policies by governments in the homeland, and

4. The existence of relationships between source and destination countries (Orozco

2005a).

These four factors contribute to fostering a certain level of transnational engagement with

the homeland. The most immediate and growing form of engagement recently identified is

remittances. Family remittances, the money that migrants send home to their families and

communities in their countries of origin, has become a key source of foreign savings to

hundreds of developing countries. The Ghanaian diaspora is not absent from this remitting

pattern, but rather is an exemplary case of engagement with the home country in multiple

ways.

The implication of these dynamics is reflected in an impact on the home country at various

levels. From an economic standpoint, the impact coincides with development. Remittances

received by families improve their quality of life, as well as conditions in rural communities

where resource scarcity, particularly financial, is problematic. These foreign savings also

have an impact on national growth and capital accumulation. First, the sheer volume of

money often amounts to a significant portion of national income, thus affecting

consumption and production in the economy. Second, remittances exhibit countercyclical

features that are non-negligible: despite economic cycles, remittances follow an incremental

growth informed by their family obligations. Third, as foreign savings, remittances are

conduits to other forms of investment as they help senders and recipients consider their

various options for income generation.

In addition to these factors, remittances are also a manifestation of broader global economic

integration. Remittances are part of a process associated with the diverse economic

relationships migrants have with their home country. These include, among others, visiting

6

the country, tourism, calling relatives, buying home country goods and belonging to

hometown associations. This report analyzes these trends among the Ghanaian diaspora.

The Ghanaian diaspora

Ghana is a significantly transnationalized nation and society. As a diaspora with a

longstanding tradition, Ghanaians living abroad have established ties with their homeland by

continuing practices and customs that keep their family and community bonds alive. In

terms of numbers, there are probably at least one million Ghanaians living abroad, 300,000

of which are said to be in the U.S. However, there is no valid source for their numbers.

While the 2000 U.S. Census identified 60,000, this figure is relatively small: two money

transfer companies alone make more transfers than that number in a U.S. outbound market

perceived to be both competitive and to have active informal networks. Similarly, the

Ghanaian community in the U.K. is also considered to be of the same size as that of the U.S.

or larger, yet official statistics don’t have reliable information for this diaspora. (For an

analysis of Ghanaian U.S. census demographics, see Appendix I.)

What is clear in this reality, however, is that Ghanaians are a relatively well-established

diaspora in the countries they live in, and they simultaneously maintain strong ties with their

homeland. The manifestation of diaspora linkages is observed in a number of ways: their

global spread, their commitment to send money both over time as well as to their practical

contacts with the family and community, and their financial interests in the homeland.

There are other manifestations in the form of social and political organizing that produce

significant feedback about social transformations on both sides.

The Ghanaian diaspora is a key example of how material and symbolic circumstances are

inextricably intertwined: they reinforce each other in order to coexist. A diaspora’s identity,

for example, is significantly defined by a transnational sense of belonging and attachment to

the societies the individual or group is a part of. Yet, concurrently, that sense of belonging is

also fed by material manifestations of well-being. Ghanaians manifest this intersection

between identity and material interests through their acquisition of homes, their sending of

money to extended families and by the formation of hometown associations. The latter are

7

created to help the diaspora communities not only in the places where they coexist, but also

in the homeland and the communities’ homes wherever they may be.

As will be discussed later, Ghanaian diasporas manifest values and interests along family,

community and personal settings. Home, in these instances, acts as the material

representation of belonging to any of these three settings. Of note, according to Henry and

Mohan (2003), is the fact that the Ghanaian diaspora is strongly concerned with establishing

homes in their country of origin. These homes are often located in the capital city Accra,

away from their hometown. In turn, the materialization of these efforts goes beyond the

actual building of the home, by reshaping social and economic relationships (and even

perhaps political ones). Below we describe the demographic profile of Ghanaian remittance

senders.

Demographic profiles Ghanaian remittance senders are distinctively different depending on the country where they

reside. For example, sixty percent of Ghanaians in the U.S. are under 40 years of age,

whereas in Germany only 37% are. Conversely, remittance senders are predominantly male:

without major variation, between sixty and sixty six percent of senders are male.

Table 2: Age distribution of remitters (%) Host Country

Germany UK USA 20-29 7.7 22.0 10.6 30-39 29.9 36.3 51.6 40-49 37.1 22.4 30.3 50-59 25.3 19.3 7.5 n=221(Germany); n=259 (UK); n=320 (USA) Table 3: Gender distribution of remitters (%)

Host Country

Germany UK USA MALE 61.5 66.7 60.1 FEMALE 38.5 33.3 39.9 n=226 (Germany); n=276 (UK); n=321 (USA)

8

When looking at educational status, there are also differences between Ghanaian remitters,

depending on the country where they are living. Ghanaians living in Germany tend to have

a lower educational attainment than those in the U.K. and the U.S. This tendency is most

striking when compared with Ghanaians in the U.K. where half of remittance senders have a

college degree. This education level significantly sets Ghanaians in the U.K. apart from their

counterparts elsewhere.

Income also varies across countries: those in the U.S. are more likely to earn more money

than their counterparts in Europe. Those in Germany earn less than Ghanaians in the U.K.

and are among the lowest income earners: thirty percent earn less than €10,000. This figure

is comparable to the only 13% of Ghanaians in the U.S. who earn an average of US$12,500

Ghanaian education levels appear to correlate with income status as the figure below shows.

Those with a higher education degree are more likely to have a higher income. The trend is

similar across the three countries of residence for Ghanaians. Notice, however, the higher

level of education that Ghanaians in the U.K. exhibit across income brackets. Table 4: Educational distribution of remitters (%)

Host Country

Germany UK USA College degree 8 57 15 Some college 18 28 38 High school 62 14 35 Primary 12 2 10 Does not finish primary 0 0 2 n=217 (Germany); n=268 (UK); n=312 (USA) Table 5: Annual personal income of remitters (% Range)

Host Country

Germany (€) UK (£) USA ($) LESS THAN 10,000 30 12 1 10,001 -15,000 32 32 12 15,001 - 20,000 16 22 20 20,001 - 25,000 14 14 24 25,001 - 30,000 9 8 25 30,001 - 35,000 30 12 1

9

0102030405060708090

100

Less than10,000

Between10,001

and15,000

Between15,001

and20,000

Between20,001

and25,000

Between25,001

and30,000

Between30,001

and35,000

Over35,000

GermanyUSAUK

OVER 35,000 32 32 12 n=126 (Germany); n=268 (UK); n=269 (USA) Figure 1: Income and people with a college degree

Another significant difference refers to the length of time in the host country. Ghanaians in

Germany have been there longer than their counterparts in the U.K. and the U.S. For the

most part, Ghanaians in Germany and the U.K. have been in these countries for more than

ten years, whereas over eighty percent of Ghanaians in the U.S. have been there less than ten

years. These differences in time might be explained by the movement of two different

generations. This is likely attributable to the political transition of the 1990s and the end of

the Rawlings regime. Table 6: Length of time residing in host country (%)

Host Country

Years

Germany UK USA LESS THAN 1 1 5 2 1 - 3 5 21 8 4 - 6 8 20 30 7 - 9 16 12 37 10 -12 21 7 16 13 - 15 17 10 4 MORE THAN 15 34 26 3 n=223 (Germany); n=294 (UK); n=319 (USA)

10

2. Remittances to Ghana: trends and patterns Ghanaian migrants who send money to Ghana manifest some similar characteristics to other

diasporas, but also display significant differences. Particularly, their sending frequencies,

rationales and beneficiaries reflect common tendencies of other diasporas. But as will be

shown below, Ghanaians uniquely send increasing amounts of money over time. Thus, the

longer they live abroad, the more money they send. This trend is similar across the U.K.,

U.S. and Germany.

Sending money home: amounts, rationales, length, and beneficiaries

The typical amount of money sent by Ghanaians in Europe or the U.S. varies. In the U.S.

case, Ghanaians send on average US$ 380 and do so regularly 13 times a year. In Germany,

the diaspora sends €159 (US$225) and from the UK £290 (US$510). These differences are

substantive when compared to the frequency of sending, which ranges between ten and

thirteen times (see Table 7 below). While in terms of the aggregate amount of the average

being sent, Ghanaians in the U.K. are the largest senders, when remittance sending is

compared in a range we notice that less than one third of Ghanaians in the U.K. are sending

more than £200. This amount is dwarfed in comparison to those in the U.S. who are

regularly sending above $200. Table 7: Frequency of sending money by place of sending Host Country Frequency Germany 11 UK 10 USA 13

n= 224 (Germany); n=285 (UK); n=320 (USA) Table 8: Distribution of Amount sent by country and respective currency of origin (%)

Germany (€) UK (£) USA ($) Under 100 48 37 8 101 to 150 22 7 8 151 to 200 19 23 12 Over 200 11 32 72

100 100 100 Another interesting feature that distinguishes the Ghanaian community from other diasporas

is the commitment to sending money over time. Unlike Latino migrants in the U.S. or South

East Asians in Japan, Singapore or Hong Kong, Ghanaians send a larger amount of money

11

as their permanence in the host country increases over time. This characteristic is distinctive

and is only shared by Nigerians in the U.S..

This particular feature might signify that the West African diaspora maintains a truly

transnational commitment to a life in two homes. Interviews with Ghanaians in the U.S.

have suggested that their stay does not mean they will not return to their home country. In

some neighborhoods in Accra, the diaspora has built homes as a reassurance that they are

still ‘there’.

Figure 2: Length of time sending and average sent

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Less than a year Between oneand three years

Between fourand six years

Between sevenand nine years

Over ten years

GermanyUnited Kingdom

United States

Nigerians in the U.S.Latinos in the U.S.

In terms of the beneficiaries of the money, the majority are immediate relatives,

predominantly the parents of the immigrant. In all cases, over forty percent of Ghanaians

send primarily to their fathers or mothers and secondarily, for those in the U.S. and

Germany, to children they have in Ghana. Moreover, nearly one fifth of the beneficiaries

are spouses. Other relatives like siblings or grandparents receive less.

Table 9: Principal beneficiary of remittances (%)

Host Country Germany UK USA HUSBAND/WIFE 16 19 24 MOTHER/FATHER 46 46 40 CHILDREN 23 11 28 SIBLINGS 7 12 3

12

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

LESS THAN AYEAR

BETWEEN ONEAND THREE

YEARS

BETWEENFOUR AND SIX

YEARS

BETWEENSEVEN ANDNINE YEARS

OVER TENYEARS

GERMANYUKUSA

GRADPARENTS 3 2 4 OTHER RELATIVES 4 8 2 FRIENDS 1 2 0 n= 222 (Germany); n=285 (UK); n=320 (USA) Similar to other diasporas, the main reason Ghanaians remit is to help the family take care of

basic needs such as food, clothing and schooling. This commitment does not change

significantly over time. People consistently send money to cover basic needs regardless of

how long they have been doing so. This means that there is a realistic consideration that

basic needs are a timeless priority.

Table 10: Reasons they send remittances (%) Host Country

Germany UK USA FOOD 89 68 97 CLOTHING 22 46 62 EDUCATION 47 39 47 HOUSING 8 29 15 BUSINESS 0 11 0 SAVINGS 5 6 8 OTHER 7 18 1 UNKNOWN/NR 6 9 0 n= 226 (Germany); n=295 (UK); n=321 (USA); *Based on multiple choice responses Figure 3: Sending money for food and length of time sending money

13

These remittance-sending patterns are telling of a longstanding commitment and focus on

basic needs. More importantly, the amounts sent increase over time, while the frequency of

sending continues apace.

Cost of sending money: methods, and transaction costs As with any other service, people incur costs when sending money. The transaction cost of

remitting money is relatively higher than other transaction costs, such as those made for

basic consumption goods. People have to pay fees to process the transfers and to cover

commissions on the exchange of the currency. These costs can be significantly expensive

and might represent more than ten percent of the amount sent.

In the case of sending money to Ghana, costs vary depending on the corridor. From the

U.S. the fee may vary from 3 to 8%, and from the U.K. the cost can be substantially higher

when Western Union is included (see the Table 11 below). The commission on the

exchange rate is relatively competitive and is not more than 1% of the market rate in Ghana,

except in the case of MoneyGram’s rate for the U.K. corridor. In the U.S., Western Union

is one of the major competitors, followed by MoneyGram, Vigo and Ria Envia.2 In the

U.K., Western Union is also a major competitor but deals with a larger range of competitors,

of which Express Funds is one. When costs in the U.K. and the U.S. are compared, the

differences are relatively small.

Table 11: Transfer cost of sending remittances to Ghana from the U.K. and the U.S.

MTO $300 (%) $500 Exchange rate* FX commission Western Union $24.00 8% $39.00 8,989.00 0.67% Vigo $12.00 4% $22.00 9,004.00 0.51% MoneyGram $9.99 3% $9.99 8,995.87 0.60%

United States

Ría Envía $15.00 5% $25.00 8,990.00 0.66% MTO £100 (%) Exchange rate* FX commission Express Funds 3 3% 15961 0.0% Western Union 14 14% 15864.14 0.28%

United Kingdom

MoneyGram 4.99 5%

15370.39 3.39% Source: for the U.S., data compiled by the author. For the U.K., www.sendmoneyhome.org; www.expressfundsintl.com * U.S.: 9/23/05; U.K. 10/23/05, the market exchange rate to buy pounds into Cedis is 15,909; the market exchange rate to buy dollars into Cedis is 9050: Bank of Ghana: www.bog.gov.gh.

2 Interviews with MTO representatives. The transfer volume for each business is above 15,000 transactions a month and combined add to more than 100,000 from the United States.

14

There is also evidence of a large informal sector operating across the three corridors and

within West Africa. Valsa Shah (2005, 21) describes a typical informal operation of

remittances to Ghana, generally similar to how it works in other countries. Shah stresses the

difficulties of doing research on informal networks.3 An average of 20% of those

interviewed in our survey responded that they use some form of informal or unlicensed

mechanism. Those in Germany showed the largest percentage.4 Ghanaian remitters were

asked questions about the cost of sending money, their level of satisfaction and perceived

fairness in the price paid. When asked how much they paid to send money, their responses

were not far off from the numbers reported in the previous table.5

Table 12: Cost reportedly paid by remittance sender

MTO $300 Western Union 29 Vigo 14 MoneyGram 29

United States

Ría Envía MTO £100 Express Funds 4 Western Union 14

United Kingdom

MoneyGram 8.7 Table 13: Company used by remittance sender Germany United

Kingdom United States

Express Funds 19 First African Remittances 9 Friends 5 Money Gram 4 11 Other 13 45 1 Private 29 Umt 49 Unity Link 18 Vigo 27 Western Union 8 24 61 Overall, despite these costs, Ghanaian consumers feel satisfied by the service they pay for.

Only one quarter of those interviewed feel the cost is too high, while the rest perceive it to 3 As part of another USAID project on West African intra-regional flows, the principal researcher conducted interviews with more than fifty migrants in West Africa, as well as fifteen unlicensed money carriers and confirmed the process as described by Shah. 4 The survey methodology employed in the U.S. concentrated mostly on the remitter using licensed businesses, thus is hard to draw conclusions about informal networks in the U.S. 5 In the case of MoneyGram the result may not be reliable because only a very small percentage responded to this question.

15

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

GERMANY UK USA All respondents

Too High

Satisfied

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

VERYSATISFIED

SATISFIED SLIGHTLYSATISFIED

NOT AT ALLSATISFIED

Too highSatisfied

be appropriate. One reason may be that senders are comfortable with the companies they

have been dealing with. In fact, there is a strong relationship between their price satisfaction

and their overall satisfaction with the company services.

Figure 4: Migrant Satisfaction with Price they pay Figure 5: Level of satisfaction with company and prices

16

3. Macro economic issues and determinants of remittances

What is the significance of the fact that Ghanaians remit over US$4,000 per capita a year?

Are there micro and macro economic determinants that influence the ability of migrants to

send these amounts? Do these transfers have an impact on the country’s economy? Overall

migrants are sending 15% of their income or more (as in the U.S. case) to their relatives.

Such volume translates into more than one billion dollars a year.

The literature on remittances has analyzed a number of microeconomic determinants of this

practice, such as demographic profiles, income and length of time sending money. For

example, Amuedo and Dorantes stress that motivations to remit “include altruism,

accumulating precautionary saving, asset accumulation and asset diversification and loan

repayment.” and that there is not a “one size fits all” explanation when reporting on this

under-researched area.”6

Here we look at these issues by analyzing rationales among remittance senders when sending

above or below the average amounts. We analyze remittance senders not for their

motivations to remit, but rather their decisions to send larger or smaller amounts than the

average. To that end we look at a selection of factors including the cost of sending money,

demographic characteristics, the extent of contact with the home country and levels of

financial obligation.

The model is a multiple regression using OLS procedures with average amount sent as the

dependent variable. The results show that those who send more than the average are older,

less educated, have higher incomes, are in more regular phone contact with their relatives,

and send money with less frequency but over a longer period of time. Thus, the reasons for

remitting are associated with resources and the extent of contact. Basic needs such as food

or clothing become a more substantive kind of determinant that acts as a constant because

everyone sends money for food regardless of the amount sent.

6 Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina, Susan Pozo, and Cynthia Bansak, On the Remitting Patterns of Immigrants: Evidence from Mexican Survey Data, September 26, 2004.

17

0500

100015002000250030003500400045005000

RemittancesExportsFDIODA

Table 14: Regression results on determinants of remittance sending Unstandari

zed coeficcients

Standarized coefficients

(Constant) 33.94246 Annual frequency of sending money -7.57127 -0.1374*** Length of time sending remittances 23.40204 0.1065* Sending money for other reasons than to family -1.40948 -0.002 Frequency of traveling back to home country -7.30019 -0.0238 Frequency of calling relatives at home -45.5171 -0.1351*** Holding of a savings account in a bank -21.1708 -0.01562 Helping with other family obligations 51.71282 0.071343 Own a bank account (not savings) in the U.S. 28.82012 0.022643 Contribute to hometown associations 55.84642 0.075269 Age 4.295188 0.107212* Gender -10.6851 -0.0142 Education -43.1216 -0.10764** Personal income 51.47761 0.236598*** R2: 0.20 Statistical significance at *** 1% level; ** 5% level; * 10% level These micro determinants affect the behavior of the economies where the money is

received. Generally, remittances have several affects on a country’s economy. First, the

volume alone may signify something as important as a major source of foreign savings and a

significant share of the country’s income. Second, the money received has a distributive

nature because it arrives into rural communities, thus increasing access to much needed

currency. Also, the money is mostly received by women. Third, remittances have an affect

on gross savings and play a counter-cyclical role. Fourth, they are part of a broader context

of global economic integration.

According to the Central Bank of Ghana, remittances in 2004 were US$1.2 billion and

probably represented only half of all Ghanaians money sent from abroad (Addison 2004).

This volume of money sent impacts the country’s US$20 billion economy since it represents,

after exports, one of the main sources of income in the economy.

Figure 6: Main economic drivers in Ghana

18

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

GERMANY UK USA

GREATER ACCRA

ASHANTI

EASTERN

BRONG-AHAFO

WESTERN

NORTHERN

CENTRAL

VOLTA

UPPER EAST

UPPER WEST

One important impact is that the volume sent represents an amount far greater (ten times)

than the country’s per capita GDP, and arrives into communities outside the capital city

Accra. In fact, the money is dispersed throughout the country, with Accra and the Ashanti

area receiving nearly sixty percent of the flows.

Figure 7: Regional Distribution of Remittances to Ghana

From a macroeconomic perspective, remittances also function as a cushion against

oscillations in the economy because of their countercyclical features. Addison (2004, 14)

argues that because “migrants make their remittances on the basis of pure family ties and

other economic commitments between family members,” remittances exhibit a less volatile

behavior than capital. He shows that during the period 1990-2003, remittances exhibited a

volatility coefficient of 0.21, which is much lower than foreign aid or investment (0.6 and

0.61 respectively). When these flows are compared monthly, they exhibit an increasing

trend that follows price increases or foreign exchange shifts.

19

8,750.008,800.008,850.008,900.008,950.009,000.009,050.009,100.00

Jan.

04

Feb.

04

Mar. 04

Apr. 04

May. 04

Jun.

04Ju

l. 04

Aug. 04

Sep.

04

Oct. 04

Nov. 0

4

Dec. 0

4Jan

. 05Fe

b. 05

Mar. 05

Apr. 05

May. 05

Jun.

05

0

50

100

150

200

FX

Remittances

Figure 8: Remittances and Exchange rate

20

4. Diaspora ties through the 5Ts: calling, visiting and feeling in touch One recent finding concerning the relationship between remittances and development is that

transnational linkages are critically important in defining the extent of closeness with the

homeland (Orozco 2005d). Specifically, the transnational relationship between a diaspora

and the home country is validated by what we call the 5Ts: transportation,

telecommunication, tourism, transfer of money and nostalgic trade.

We find that, similar to other diasporas, Ghanaian relationships extend beyond the sending

and receiving of remittances. Ghanaian migrants also connect with their home country and

relatives through visits, telecommunications and the purchasing of goods from their home

country.

The majority of Ghanaian migrants travel to Ghana once a year. Over half of all Ghanaians

visit their home country once a year or more. Ghanaian migrants in the U.K. and in the

U.S., despite the latter country’s longer distance from Ghana, tend to visit their home

country more often than their counterparts in Germany. Sixty-three and sixty-five percent

respectively of those in the U.S. and the U.K. visit their country at least once a year. In the

case of Ghanaians in Germany and the U.K., only 14 percent very rarely visit their home

country while just over 4 percent of Ghanaians in the U.S. rarely travel homeward.

This level of travel to the home country is by far one of the highest among diasporas.

Studies on Latinos in the U.S, Filipinos in the U.S., Japan, Singapore or Hong Kong, and

Indonesians in Japan or Hong Kong, show that less than one third of diasporas visit their

country (Orozco 2005d; Orozco with Fedewa 2005c). The Ghanaian figure is only matched

by Nigerians, who stress they visit their home country as regularly as their counterparts from

Ghana.

Table 15: How Often Do You Travel To Your Country? Ghanaians in How often do you travel to your country?

Germany USA UK Nigerians

in the USA

Three or more times a year 1 2 2 2

21

Twice a year 14 10 16 11 Once a year 34 52 47 31 Once every two years 27 24 12 29 Once every three years 10 7 9 11 I travel very rarely 14 4 14 5 Total 100 100 100

In contrast to other diasporas, the length of time Ghanaians stay while visiting their home

country is also longer, lasting between one and two months. Ghanaians traveling from

Germany, however, tend to stay longer than their counterparts in the U.K. and U.S. Almost

all (nearly 95 percent) of Ghanaian migrants in Germany stay in their home country for a

month when visiting, compared to roughly two-thirds (63 percent) of Ghanaians traveling

from the U.S. and just over half (53 percent) of those traveling from the U.K. Ghanaian

migrants in the U.K. and U.S. tend to stay less time than their counterparts in Germany, but

travel home more frequently (as demonstrated above).

Table 16: Length of time visiting the country Country where the migrant resides

Germany UK USA Less than a week 2 2 Less than three weeks 5 46 36 Less than two months 77 48 58 More than two months 18 5 4 Total 100 100 100

Ghanaians traveling to their home country tend to spend, on average, between one and three

thousand dollars. As illustrated above, Ghanaian migrants in Germany travel home less

frequently but stay longer than their counterparts in the U.K. and U.S. Consistent with this

trend, Ghanaians that live and work in Germany tend to spend more money than their

counterparts in the U.K. and U.S. The majority of Ghanaians traveling from Germany

spend more than three thousand dollars during their stay in Ghana.

Table 17: Amount spent while visiting Ghana

Country where the migrant resides

Germany UK USA One thousand dollars or less 23 48 13 Between one and three thousand dollars 35 45 54

22

More than three thousand dollars 42 8 33 Total 100 100 100

Aside from personal visits home, Ghanaians maintain contact with their relatives in Ghana

through regular phone calls. Ghanaian migrants in the U.K. and U.S. call home more

frequently than their counterparts in Germany. Eighty-eight percent of Ghanaians in the

U.S. and almost three-quarters (73 percent) of Ghanaians in the U.K. call their family in

Ghana once a week or more, compared with 43 percent of Ghanaians in Germany. Almost

one-tenth of Ghanaians in Germany rarely contact their relatives.

This response is typical of other diasporas who at the very least have some amount of phone

communication back home. Migrants often also take advantage of the free one to three

minutes that many remittance companies offer to notify the relative that their funds have

been sent. This perk serves to greet the relative and briefly ask how they are doing.

Table 18: Frequency of calling home Country where the migrant resides

Germany UK USA Two Or More Times A Week 16 38 34 Once A Week 28 34 54 Once Every Two Weeks 28 18 10 Once A Month 19 7 2 I Call Very Little 10 3 1 Total 100 100 100

While Ghanaians in the U.K. and U.S. call home more frequently than their counterparts in

Germany, their conversations tend to be shorter in duration. Roughly half of Ghanaians in

the U.K. (52 percent) and the U.S. (46 percent) speak with their relatives no more than 20

minutes each time they call. Meanwhile, over 80 percent of Ghanaian migrants in Germany

will speak with their relatives for twenty minutes or more each time they call. The vast

majority (71 percent), however, actually speaks to their relatives between twenty minutes and

a half-an-hour.

Table 19: Average Length of the call (in minutes) (%) What Is The Average Length Of The Call In Ghanaians in Nigerians

23

Germany USA UK

Less Than Five Minutes 1 3 2 Between Six And Ten Minutes 7 5 15 13 Between Eleven And Twenty Minutes 10 42 33 40 Between Twenty And Thirty Minutes 71 28 27 26 More Than Thirty Minutes 12 26 22 20 Total 100 100 100

These phone calls, which on average range between one hundred and eighty minutes a

month, generate important revenues in the transnational corridors. For example, in 2003,

calls from the U.S. to Ghana totaled three hundred million minutes, and in 2002, one

hundred million minutes. These phone calls yielded important revenues of more than fifty

million dollars to U.S. carriers with shared payments to Ghanaian providers. The cost of a

call to Ghana ranges between 10 and 50 cents a minute but in 2003, produced revenue of

0.17 cents per minute on average. Ghanaians placed the vast majority of these phone calls.

Another significant way in which Ghanaians maintain a connection to their homeland is

through the consumption of products made in Ghana. Virtually all Ghanaians surveyed in

the U.S. purchase Ghanaian-made goods, while nearly 90 percent of Ghanaians in Germany

and over 80 percent in the U.K. follow suit. These goods include spices, fresh and salted

fish, shrimp and peppers.

Table 20: Percent who buy home country goods Country where the migrant resides

Germany UK USA Yes 88 83 99 No 12 17 1

Table 21 below shows the list of some of the main products Ghanaians report buying from

their home country. Seafood and spices are among the main produce of choice across all

groups. Note however that the preference for salted fish is greater in Germany and the U.S.,

whereas pepper products are of choice in the U.K.

24

Table 21: Products Ghanaians buy from home country Germany UK USA ALL Peas 11 20 3 11 Peppers 40 55 17 35 Fresh fruits and vegetables 38 35 22 31 Noodles 27 5 12 14 Salted fish 77 45 72 64 Fresh fish and shrimp 78 41 68 62 Spices 81 33 41 49

As the tables above show, Ghanaians keep a close relationship to the homeland, not just by

sending money, but also in a myriad of other ways: by staying in touch with their relatives,

visiting the home country in large percentages, staying extended periods of time, and buying

home country goods. These set of practices are indicative of an important level of

transnational engagement with Ghana.

It bears noting that the expression of engagement is multifaceted and extends to economic,

social and financial ties. As the next section will show, financial obligations are also ties that

link Ghanaians to the homeland.

5. From remittances to financial intermediation

Although the relationship between remittances and development is multifaceted and

complex, financial leverage is clearly relevant to improving the impact foreign savings have

on the household and country as a whole (Orozco 2004d; 2005d). The data from this study

indicate that while the financial preferences of migrants are relatively well defined, they

represent an invitation for innovative strategies to attract their resources for investment in

both spaces of belonging.

Within the context of globalization, one outcome of continued migration is the formation of

transnational communities. These communities are defined as groups or families that

maintain relations and connections with both their home and host societies.7 The relations

and contacts present in these communities refer to the needs and preferences that an individual or

7 There are a range of definitions for transnational communities. “groupings of migrants who participate on a routine basis in a field of relationships, practices and norms that include both places of origin and destination” Fernando Lozano-Ascencio. “Transnational Migrant Communities and Mexican Migration to the United States,” co-authored with Bryan Roberts and Reanne Frank, Ethnic and Racial Studies 22(2):238-266.

25

group attaches to their life, and in the transnational context, represent extended household-to-

household micro-patterns.

In turn, however, these patterns generate significant macroeconomic impacts on the

economies of the receiving countries. Some of these impacts are the result of financial and

economic obligations migrants choose to keep with their home country. Thus, in practical

terms, a typical immigrant’s economic linkage with the home country extends to at least four

practices that involve spending or investment: family remittance transfers, demand of goods and

services, such as telecommunication, consumer goods or travel, capital investment and charitable donations to

philanthropic organizations raising funds for the home country’s community (see box below).

Figure 9: Immigrant economic practices

From a policy perspective, it is critical to distinguish the range of economic practices

immigrants have with their home country, and identify what constitutes a remittance or an

investment. This helps to evaluate their significance as well as inform policy and the

leveraging potential for development. This section analyzes the various economic and

financial obligations that migrants engage in outside remittance sending.

Immigrant economic practices (annual expenses)

Consumption Donations Family remittances Capital investment

Household economy (US$4,000)

Community (US$10,000 year)

Trade and Services, retail (US$3,000)

Property and other (US$5,000)

26

Financial relationships in Ghana

Financial ties reflect an important level of engagement migrants have with their homeland.

First, investing and spending in the home country reflect loyalty and confidence in the

economic environment. Second, maintaining financial obligations in the home country

posits as a way to secure one’s economic interests in familiar settings. Lastly, the financial

relationship suggests that the migrant has diversified his investments. In the case of Ghana,

these three aspects are well demonstrated and point to the fact that migrants are exploring

obligations beyond solely remitting.

For example, 40 percent of Ghanaians responded that they sent money for “other activities.”

In particular, they send money to cover real estate obligations as well as school fees. The

data in Table 22 indicate that 75.6 percent of the Ghanaians living in the U.S. expressed that

they have real estate interests in Ghana. Table 22: Sending of money in addition to the support to their family * (%) Host Country

Germany UK USA Charitable purposes 22 18 0 Political contributions 10 4 0 Payment of real estate investment 18 53 76 Payment of loan to maintain business 4 4 9 Payment of school fees 82 53 9 Other 15 6 0 n= 110 (Germany); n=146 (UK); n=90 (USA); *Based on multiple choice responses When Ghanaians were asked what other kinds of economic activities they maintained, the

overwhelming majority expressed that they maintain a savings account in the home country.

This is an important finding because it is unique amongst communities of migrants almost

anywhere in the world.

The survey data also reveal important information on the use of mortgage loans and

investments in small businesses by Ghanaian migrants. The data indicate that although over

three quarters of the Ghanaians living in the U.S. have real estate investments in Ghana, they

are not using mortgages to meet their real estate obligations. Furthermore, many appear to

27

pay for real estate investments in Ghana without the use of any type of loan. Not

surprisingly, the majority of people with a mortgage loan in Ghana are also paying for a real

estate investment.

Table 23: Economic activities maintained in Ghana * (%) Host Country

Germany UK USA Savings account in a bank 89 89 97 Mortgage loan 13 11 5 Small family or commercial business 18 28 2 Loan to maintain business 5 4 0 Student loan 7 9 1 Pension plan 1 5 0 Loans money to family for small investments 1 8 2 Other 0 1 2 n=111 (Germany); n=229 (UK); n=174 (USA); *Based on multiple choice responses Table 24: Type of bank account held in Ghana Host Country

Germany UK USA Cedi current account 43 52 36 Cedi savings 68 57 82 Foreign currency 12 18 1 None 23 16 34 Unknown/nr 50 22 29 n=196 (Germany); n=257 (UK); n=237 (USA); *Based on multiple choice responses The diverse financial preferences of Ghanaians were also reflected in their interest in

different kinds of investment instruments. Thirty five percent would invest in mutual funds,

trusts, or treasury bills. Treasury bills were preferred by Ghanaians in the U.S., where

approximately 75 percent of the respondents showed interest in using this investment tool.

Table 25: Financial instruments for investment Mutual funds 11 Unit trust 11 Real estate trust 34

28

0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

60.00%

80.00%

100.00%

Germany U.K. U.S.

Stock market 34 Treasury bills 74 2 year bonds 12 3 year bonds 5 5 year bonds 12

Financial obligations in the host country

Financial inclusion is a key issue for migrants. Maintaining a bank account and sustaining

some level of financial obligations are important indicators of access to the financial system.

In the U.S. context, Latinos have limited access to financial institutions, partly due to their

low educational status, their mode of arrival and also the limited supply of financial products

available to ethnic minorities. However, the case of Ghanaians differs. Ghanaians not only

have financial interests in their country of origin, but also in their current place of residence.

Overall, 74 percent of Ghanaians have bank accounts. At 90 percent, this figure is even

higher in the U.K..

Ghanaians also indicated that they have some level of financial interests in their current

country of residence. These interests predominantly include both mortgage loans and credit

cards, and to a lesser extent educational and business loans. Mortgage loans represent the

most prominent financial obligation of Ghanaians. Approximately 90 percent of the

respondents with a mortgage loan also have a bank account. It is important to note that

Ghanaian population residing in Germany has the lowest percentage of bank account

holders, credit card holders, and mortgage loan holders. This appears to be directly linked to

the lower personal income levels of Ghanaians in Germany. Despite these differences,

Ghanaians in Germany show a higher use of business loans than their counterparts in the

U.K. and the U.S..

Figure 10: Ghanaians with bank accounts

29

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

GERMANY UK USA

BOTH

CREDIT

DEBIT

DOES NOT HAVE

Figure 11: People with cards Table 26: Extent of financial obligations in host country

Germany UK USA Business loan 42 10 8

Education loan 17 20 33 Mortgage loan 36 61 59 These findings suggest that Ghanaian financial preferences are not mutually exclusive with

their place of origin, belonging or settlement. Rather, Ghanaians appear to stretch their

resources as far as their interests and relationships exist and, as a result, diversify their social

capital and financial stocks. This stretching is not merely personal; it includes additional

support to the family in other activities. For instance, over 50 percent of Ghanaians provide

other assistance that goes beyond regular remitting. This assistance is usually in the form of

supporting the family to pay their real estate obligations. These interests also go beyond the

family and are manifested at the community level. As the next section will show, one quarter

of Ghanaians in the Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. are members of social groupings

organized to help their hometowns.

6. From remittances to donations: Ghanaian HTAs8

As indicated above, transnational migration has expanded the scope of Ghanaian

international interaction. Beyond the sending and receiving of remittances, Ghanaian

migrants and their families have expanded the scope of their international interaction

8 Many of the interviews carried out for this research were conducted by Katya Sienkiewicz.

30

through telecommunications, trade, enhanced access to financial products and services, and

the promotion of local development through hometown associations.

Hometown associations have been identified as key institutions of transnational engagement

with the homeland (Orozco 2003). They represent a conduit of identity and purpose. As

identity conduits, HTAs are vessels of memory, belonging, and community to many migrants

who seek a way to shelter their national nostalgia. But at the same time, HTAs fulfill the

practical purpose of mobilizing migrants to promote social development. Membership in an

HTA represents a concrete way to make a difference in the home country by contributing

financially to support projects back home. Through HTAs, Ghanaian migrants are able to

maintain contact and cultural ties with their homes of origin. More notably though, in the

face of great development needs, HTAs are able “to give back” (as the Yankasa Association

of New York's name aptly indicates) through their various development projects.

This research found that twenty four percent of Ghanaian remittance senders are involved in

a hometown association. This figure is relatively higher than the formation of similar ties

among other diasporas. However, it is interesting to note that the percentage is lower

among Ghanaians in the U.S.. While lower in the U.S., the Ghanaian HTA participation rate

is similar to that of Nigeria. Despite the low number in the U.S. their participation is higher

than that of Latinos in the U.S., which averages 6%.

Table 27: Migrants who support or contribute to HTAs helping home country (%) Ghanaians in

Germany UK USA Nigerians

in the U.S.

37 28 15 16

Gender plays a significant role in HTA membership. The majority of HTA leaders are men,

except in the case of those in the U.S. Second, similar to other diasporas, belonging to an

HTA is positively associated with the length of time living outside of the homeland. The

longer the time away the more likely a person is to join a group.

31

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

LES THAN AYEAR

BETWEEN ONEAND THREE

YEARS

BETWEENFOUR AND SIX

YEARS

BETWEENSEVEN ANDNINE YEARS

BETWEEN TENAND TWELVE

YEARS

BETWEENTHIRTEEN AND

FIFTEENYEARS

OVER FIFTEENYEARS

GERMANYUKUSA

The case of the U.S. suggests that newest arrivals often seek ‘homeland identity shelter’. In

the past ten years, recent migrants have become the core members of HTAs in the U.S.,

while the leadership tends to be provided by more established migrants. The latter provide

guidance and leadership with regard to activities to carry out in the home country. Newly

arrived migrants are among those who participate in the HTA activities and become the

main consumers of nostalgic memories and sentiments.

Figure 12: Belonging to an HTA and length of time living abroad

This section explores the basic characteristics of Ghanaian HTAs and is based on interviews

of 30 organizations in New York, Washington DC and Chicago; as well as HTAs in the U.K.

and in Germany. The interviews took place both in person and by phone. The interview

consisted of sixteen questions ranging from basic information on the year the club was

founded, the number of members and where their activities were located; to how activities

are chosen, how long they generally take to implement and whether the group has

established links with other groups/notable people to carry them out. There was also a final

section discerning the HTA’s interest in partnering with USAID for development projects

and their plans for future activities. The selection of these organizations was based on field

research and identification of diverse directories of these associations. Although the total

number of these associations in the U.S. is unknown, judging from the numbers found per

references, in directories and in conversations with embassy officials and other diaspora

groups, there may be some 200 of such groupings in the U.S.

32

Membership

HTA members generally share a connection to the same community in the home country.

Synergy between association members not only helps migrants maintain a connection to

their place of origin, but also facilitates efforts to better their home community through

collective investment in local development. Orozco (2004d) notes that while there are

instances of partnership between HTAs from different towns, these associations can become

limited in their scope because of their orientation towards a singular community or town.

There are, however, a few notable exceptions of Ghanaian HTAs which pride themselves on

being open to people from any of the ten principal regions in Ghana. The Ghanaian

Association of Westchester in New York representative states “we are sending books to a

list of libraries throughout the country, not a specific region, but different areas. We are

Ghana”. Other groups like the Fijai School Association (UK) and the Union of Old St.

Monicans, comprised of alumni, focus exclusively on assisting their former schools.

The size of Ghanaian HTAs varies to a significant degree. A third of Ghanaian HTAs are

smaller than 50 members, while another third of Ghanaian associations claim to have

between 50 and one hundred individuals on their membership roster. Twenty percent of the

HTAs profiled in this survey have over one hundred members.

Table 28: HTA Membership Members 1-50 36 51-100 32 101-200 20 201-300 8 More than 300 4 Total 100

Membership size could be attributed to many factors, including the age of the organization.

However, this does not appear evident in the case of Ghanaian HTAs. Over half (or

seventeen out of thirty) of the HTAs profiled for this report were founded in or before

1985. The oldest of these, the Ewe Association based in Chicago, founded in 1970, has just

50 members. In contrast, Nzema Association, founded in 1985 and based in the U.K.,

possesses the largest membership at 500 members. The Ghana Veteran's Association in New

33

York, founded in 1994, has 224 members, and the Asante New Town Club in the U.K.,

founded in 2005, now counts some 150 members.

The numbers of active members (those that pay annual dues) is usually less than the total

members. Many of the associations are part of larger Councils of Ghanaian Associations in

Washington, Chicago and New York, but a lesser number of groups, like the Joausa of

Chicago, are non-affiliated.

Like most HTAs, (Orozco, 2004a, 2004c) there are governing boards elected on a rotating

basis. None of the office holders are remunerated and all of the members tend to have full

time jobs. Cultural continuity in the form of diaspora Queen Mothers and Chiefs also seems

to be quite important in Ghanaian HTA composition

Activities

Ghanaian HTAs focus on various projects involving a range of activities carried out in both

the migrants’ home and host countries. It is important to mention that only one HTA

interviewed did not carry out activities in their country of origin. While it may seem obvious,

HTA projects reflect the most pressing concerns of the diaspora and the needs of the home

community as identified by such.

In the case of Ghanaian HTAs, efforts are overwhelmingly oriented towards health and

education activities. Roughly 14 percent of HTAs report infrastructure investment (including

street construction and repair, water provision, electricity and so on) and less than 4 percent

contribute to church repair, construction and decoration. Meanwhile, over 96 percent of

HTAs profiled support health and education activities in their home country communities. A

common project is “adopting” the children's or OBGYN ward (Kwahu, DC) in a hospital,

or adopting a school to support.

Table 29: Activities performed by the HTA (%)* Activity Help for the church (repair, construction, decoration) 4 Help for the cemetery (cleaning, reconstruction, etc.) 0.0

34

Help for the decoration of the town (parks, cleaning) 0.0 Recreational activity support (fields, etc.) 0.0 Infrastructural activities (streets, electricity, etc.) 14 Economic Investment 0.0 Support for health and education activities (school repairs, etc.) 96 Other (Donations of clothes, food or money):

• Scholarship fund • Hospital equipment, including wheelchairs and beds • Build a library • Purchase snake serum (“because lots of people die from snake bites”) • Send computers to an orphanage • “Help spread ideas of accountability in politics” • Support a radio station that educates people about their rights • Backpack project with school supplies

36

* Note: this represents multiple responses.

In addition to health and education related projects, over a third of HTA members also

donate funds, clothing and food to other more specific initiatives. These include

scholarships, supplying products ranging from wheelchairs and snake-bite serum to

computers and backpacks, and raising awareness among civil society.

HTAs tend to target project priorities through communication with Chiefs, Queen Mothers,

Government Ministers, and, more often, family and friends back home. The Okuapeman

Fekuw in New York, for instance, consults their village chief on town needs (like a hospital

refrigerator for medicines) when he periodically attends United Nations sessions. This HTA

also has clothing drives for the homeless in New York. Few Associations confine their

activities to their hometowns. Many groups, like the Fante Benevolent Society of Chicago,

feel their purpose is to provide services to association members in the US as well like helping

with the “naming and outdooring ceremonies” when a child is born or helping to send

family members back for burial after a death. Along with this financial and emotional

support, most HTAs place great import on inculcating their children with Ghanaian tradition

and cultural values: “we teach our culture to our kids, and they learn our language”

Asanteman Association of USA, NY.

It is difficult to categorize the length of project duration as some groups have ongoing

scholarship projects, while others do immediate repairs of schools or clinics or send a one

time supply of books or medicine donations.

35

Fundraising

Fundraising efforts depend on the HTA and are varied. Fundraising activities include

concerts, pageants, trips and raffles. In most cases, membership dues are paid to the

association. These can range from $7, $10 or $15 a month per member and often fund part

of the development endeavors. Donations in kind are also common.

Almost half of the Ghanaian HTAs studied collect less than $5,000 annually, while a quarter

of these collect between $5,000 and $10,000 in the implementation of their activities.

Table 30: Funds raised by HTAs Amount Less than $5,000 43 $5,000 - $10,000 25 $10,000 - $20,000 11 More than $40,000 4 N/A 18 Total 100 The amount of funds collected by the association does not appear to correlate with the

size of the association. For example, four HTAs that collect less than $5,000 annually

have over 150 members, while the Ebusua Association based in Washington, DC, with

just one hundred members, reportedly collects more than $40,000 annually.

BOX 2: Juaso Community Association of the United States of America (JOCAUSA)

JOCAUSA was born of a purpose on January 1st, 1992. Made up now of over 250 members, a hospital Theatre Project in Juaso propelled them to action. It was in response to the "Save Our Souls" SOS emergency appeal by the traditional ruler of the District capital, Nana Prempeh, for funds to obtain snake serum. Two women had died in Juaso and Atwidi in the Ashanti Akyem South District of snake bites, a common occurrence in rural areas where farmers cannot afford wellington boots. There was no anti-snakebite serum available. They put together a proposal for the chief for a hospital theatre, operating room and refrigerator so that snake serum could be kept fresh. Jocausa made a downpayment of $12,000. In order to ensure transparency and accountability they created a board of all the heads of all the religious groups in town, brought in women representatives, town elders, teachers from the secondary school and a representative from the chief's palace. This became the Juaso Community Association of the US improvement trust fund. The money is sent to a local bank account and is overseen by this board.

The hospital theatre has been successfully built after three years , costing between $30,00 and $40,000. It accommodates people from the entire District. The HTA respondent purported that the Ghanaian government is always willing to bring in doctors and nurses, but that they have no funds to expand buildings so this provided much needed infrastructure.

The Association continues to ship containers of hospital beds from Arlington and Fairfax hospitals along with mattresses, bed sheets and books for the local schools. Currently they are working on building a mortuary which has been approved by the regional director of health. JOCAUSA wants it to be a public-private

36

partnership so that the local government can contribute. Their future plans include more hospital development projects.

Collaborative Partners Many HTAs work with partners back home: chiefs, former school directors or HTA

members who have returned to Ghana. This helps smooth the coordination of activities,

delivery of donations and ostensibly the transparency of project implementation. Other

groups work with host country partners: hospitals like Howard University in DC (Wassa

Association, Ga-Adangbe Association) Universities like Drew University (Okuapeman

Fekuw, NY) or local churches (like the Wassa Association with a church in SE DC) which

help provide supplies to their hometowns.

Perceived Benefits of HTA Projects

Across the board, HTAs overwhelmingly praised the benefits they perceived the projects

had on the communities: people “really appreciate it, especially the schools – you have to see

it in their faces, they love it” - Kwahu Assocation, DC. “Kids need help in Ghana, especially

in education; if you educate a child in Ghana you can be educating a doctor. We don't need

to rely on the government. Ghana has gone through a lot, I don't know how much they can

generate with loans. We as individuals need to help it grow, especially the rural areas. We

need to create jobs for unemployed rural people; most of us are from rural areas.” - Brong

Ahafo Association, DC.

“Even if you give them a small amount of money it is big to them; it can't be quantified.

They survive this and that. When you are there and they find out you are from the U.S., they

thank you” Ewe Association, Chicago. “A very big benefit. Since the nuns left, the schools

have been neglected. Without our help they would be collapsing by now” Union of Old St.

Monicans, UK.

Future Projects Most HTAs are eager to pursue partnerships with USAID and other groups to leverage their

projects. Many plan to continue ongoing projects like student scholarships, sending medical

supplies, school refurbishment, etc. while some HTAs, like the Asante New Town Club in

the UK, expressed interest in collaborating with other organizations to work on proposed

37

drinking water infrastructure and orphanage construction. The Ewe Association in Chicago

is interested in job-creation ventures like a salt manufacturing plant or a sporting goods

manufacturing plant. Many HTAs are looking to become 501 c(3) certified so that they are

able to accept donations. Some are more eager to expand and take on responsibility than

others. Some are content to continue donations but would like to be able to see them

increase.

BOX 3: Ada Okorbia Akpe Founded in 1991/92, this group started because fellow Ada – people from a small town in southern Ghana whose significance is derived from its fortuitous location upon an estuary where the Atlantic and Volta meet – came together and decided to resolve problems they had faced in their home village. This group is based in New York and has roughly 60 members. They have a board consisting of a president, assistant president, secretary, vice secretary, treasurer, assistant treasurer, public relations officers and a PR assistant. All the posts have two year term limits and they pride themselves on having a very democratic project identification process . There is usually a three month debating process so that all of the members can make one of the meetings in the three months and then have subsequent voting. Each member contributes $10 a month which supports their main project, a radio station back home, along with some tertiary projects, and also provides funds for members if someone has a baby or a death in the family. Their primary project is a radio station which they support. It educates, in local dialect, mainly illiterate people in the village about their legal rights. Radio programs also inform women about their freedoms in the face of growing concerns about sexual slavery. They provide bicycles for people to get into the more remote villages and get the news. They also fund HIV research in the area through the radio station and support health clinics with medical supplies; diabetes insulin for instan ce. The HTA respondent himself went to the new clinic in Ada and helped teach the staff how to use the new equipment they had received like the blood pressure cuffs. If they had access to more funds, Ada Okorbia Akpe would greatly like to get involved in clean water projects for their village. Though a much more complex and expensive endeavor, they recognize this as a most pressing need for people there.

7. Challenges and opportunities: Leveraging remittances for

development

The previous sections have shown how the Ghanaian diaspora remains relatively well

connected to their home country, providing key resources through their consumption,

foreign savings (remittances and donations), and investment. Here we explore the extent of

this engagement and provide cues for policy and leveraging efforts between remittances and

development.

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Determining the level of engagement and commitment to the homeland

The notion of diasporic transnationalism is connected to both symbolic and material

practices as well as significant contact with the homeland. By maintaining family, financial,

and social ties Ghanaians are significantly living in a transnational context. Not only have

they rooted themselves in their current places of residence but they continue to nurture their

roots back home. Table 31 summarizes the extent of the engagement most Ghanaian

remittance senders have with Ghana. The data indicate that more than fifty percent of this

population is extensively connected. Although differences in engagement exist between the

different Ghanaian diasporas, overall there is a strong level of connection.

Table 31: Practices of Transnational Engagement Percent of people who . . . Germany UK USA Send money to Ghana other than family remittances 49% 50% 28% Sends over US $300 2% 9% 54% Travels at least once a year 34% 59% 52% Calls at least once a week 42% 71% 84% Buys home country goods 88% 83% 94% Spends more than US$1,000 77% 52% 83% Helps family with other economic obligations 58% 64% 28% Supports or contributes to HTAs 37% 28% 15% Has a savings account in a bank 89% 89% 97% Has a mortgage loan in home country 13% 11% 5% Mean percentage 49% 52% 54%

In the comparative context, the range of the Ghanaian engagement in their home country

surpasses their Latin American and Asian counterparts. Latin American and Asian diasporas

exhibit a strong commitment to family but the scope of their commitment to other sectors

of society, while expanding, is relatively narrow. Ghanaian engagement to the homeland is

realized both inside and outside the context of the family. Commitment to the homeland is

thus a function of family attachment, personal self interest in the form of investments and

ownership, and national identity. Thus, one can argue that factors defining commitment are

driven by altruism, self-interest and identity. Understanding the factors driving diasporic

homeland engagement can inform the process of strengthening mutually beneficial

relationships between the diaspora and Ghana.

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To that effect this project tested the hypothesis of diasporic commitment using “real estate

payment” as the dependent variable and a range of independent variables associated to the

family, the individual’s self interest, and the nation. The variables connected to the family

were the commitment of sending money and assistance for “other activities.” Variables on

self-interest included mortgage loans, considerations about investing at home, and

disposable income. The national identity component was analyzed through the variable of

belonging to an HTA. A logistic regression was run for these variables. The results suggest

that most of these factors influence the choice of having an obligation in Ghana.

Therefore, engagement and commitment are significant and strong enough to suggest the

need for operational strategies that not only bring the communities together, but leverage

their relationship into more productive schemes.

Table 32: Logistic regression results about Variables in the Equation B Sig. Exp(B) Has a mortgage loan 1.777 .001 5.912 Considers investing home 1.083 .000 2.955 Helps family with other obligations -.921 .088 .398 Age -.049 .054 .952 Gender .559 .128 1.748 Education .319 .098 1.376 Income .204 .120 1.226 Belongs to an HTA -1.089 .005 .337 Amount sent -.217 .152 .805 Time living abroad -.094 .444 .910 Constant -.481 .813 .618 Dependent variable: paying for a real estate loan in Ghana.

Leveraging efforts with the diaspora and development

When discussing the leveraging remittances for development it is important to keep in mind

that “although remittances have an impact on poverty, that is, they keep people out of

poverty, remittances per se do not get you out of poverty” (Orozco 2005b). Therefore,

“structural reforms regarding inequality as well as specific policies for integration and

financial democracy for sending and receiving homes are necessary. Thus, the various

relationships that immigrant communities have with their home country demand strategies

that have a direct impact on issues relating to reducing transaction costs, leveraging the

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capital potential of remittances through banking and financing, promoting tourism, nostalgic

trade, and investment, and establishing a state policy that attends to a country’s diasporas”

(Orozco 2005b).

Here we discuss recommendations within the context of Ghana that reflect the realities of

the diaspora in this part of the world.

-A commission on remittances and development

Although Ghanaian society and its diaspora recognize the importance of remittances, in

practical terms, few policy makers, community leaders, and other players are aware of the

magnitude of these relationships. There is also lesser understanding of the intersection

between remittances and development. Therefore, it is important to set a policy agenda that

helps identify certain dynamics. The establishment of a commission or a taskforce that

involves parties from the diaspora, the government, the business community, development

players, academics and civil society groups working with migrants who are aware of issues

relating to remittance transfers would be a step in the right direction. The commission

would set up its function as a mechanism to design and define a policy agenda to which

players would commit to work on. This exercise has been realized in Latin America and the

U.S. with relative success and is currently being discussed in South East Asia (IAD 2004).

-Incentives to savings and investment

The fact that Ghanaians have bank accounts in their home country is quite important. It

means that the diaspora is contributing to the nation’s saving ratio. It is worth exploring

various mechanisms to link these savings to investment schemes. Banking institutions

should consider further attracting foreign savings from the diaspora by offering special

interest rates, or lines of credit available for investment.

One typical problem most migrants face is that despite the amount of money they send, and

event when they have a bank account, they are unable to receive credit. Banking financial

institutions and the government can explore alternative ways to solve this problem by using

remittances as a mechanism to build credit history in combination with the ownership of the

bank account. Because most people have been sending money for at least for seven years,

such commitment reflects an ability to take on obligations over sustained periods of time.

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Moreover, most banks, if not all, are remittance payers, and thus can link their data systems

to their credit methodologies, thereby quickly enabling a lending mechanism for this kind of

consumer or their relatives.

-Savings mobilization in partnership with MFIs

Another distinctively important area of remittances and development is the willingness of of

the diaspora to invest. Because Ghanaians are prepared to invest and also to contribute to

development, it is important to offer incentives and mechanisms conducive to that end.

One way to work in that direction consists of linking investment portfolios to small business

projects through a matching scheme between development players, the diaspora (as

individuals or groups), finance institutions, and small entrepreneurs. These portfolios could

be designed for implementation in rural communities with amounts no greater than

US$50,000 but backed by microfinance institutions or rural banks.

One possible mechanism to enable this scheme consists of forging a partnership between a

bank and an MFI to issue loans for enterprise activities in rural areas based on a percentage

of the flow of remittances carried out by the institution. In turn, the loans would be

provided to entrepreneurs but matched with capital from migrant capital investors, thus

serving as additional credit guarantee. This strategy, however, would have to be preceded by

technical assistance to design the investment portfolio including business plans, marketing

strategies, commercialization

-Joint partnerships between donors and the diaspora

Because DFID and USAID have significant presence and operational interest in Ghana, the

diaspora, and remittances and development a partnership among these players and others in

the private sector may be a feasible possibility. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the

Multilateral Investment Fund of the IADB engaged the International Fund for Agricultural

Development (IFAD) of the United Nations. In April 2004, the two institutions announced

the creation of a 7.6 million dollar fund aimed at funding remittance related projects that

addressed microfinance and investment. Under this agreement, to which MIF provided $4

million and IFAD $2, local counterpart organizations, such as microfinance institutions,

credit unions, hometown associations and investment groups, are to commit $1.6 million to

the projects they propose.

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After one year in progress, the program has approved more than ten projects out of more

than fifty proposals received. The projects have dealt with capacity building of HTAs, local

communities’ basic needs assessment, enabling MFIs to compete in the remittance market,

and providing technical assistance on investment feasibility by hometown associations. This

exercise could be replicated to the case of Ghana.

-Adapting technologies to remittance transfers

Although remittance senders are comfortable with the current remittance service, the cost of

sending money could be lower and the value added opportunities related to remittance

sending increased. Both senders and remitters have bank accounts, though it is important to

note that “one gets the impression that these accounts are not kept active.” (Bruks 2005). In

fact, one measure of effective use of bank accounts is the use of some financial instruments

like debit cards and ATMs: only 5% have credit cards, and only 30% of recipients use ATMs

(Bruks 2005). Thus, there is an intrinsic organic but paradoxical relationship between

remittances and finance in the case of Ghana, although remittance recipients have access to

bank account, a more effective use of transfers through costs effective mechanisms is

missing.

Exploring links between remittance transfers and banking technology is an exercise that may

yield important results. Consumers are typically low risk takers when it comes to switching

products, but incentives and demonstration effects can create a transition that transforms

senders and recipients into users of cost effective and value added money transfer

mechanisms.

The growth in competition in the money transfers business has been paralleled by an

emerging consideration of the use of card based transfers that are adopted and adaptable to

the demand needs of consumers. There exist different modalities for card based money

transfers that do not rely exclusively on ATMs, but are linked through payment terminals or

points of sale, cellular telephony and wireless internet transfers. These technologies enable

the ability of low income individuals with limited or no access to banking institutions to still

have access to funds electronically, pay as need, build credit history and have access to credit.

Before elaborating on the multiple opportunities these technologies have to offer to the

43

Ghanaian remittance market, is important for banks, donors, and governments to analyze

and explore these possibilities in a methodical and systematic way. These new technologies

offer costs and benefits, are not a panacea for remittance transfers, but neither are an out of

reach practices for the Ghanaian market.

We strongly recommend exploring different mechanisms and strategies for the achievement

an effective card based money transfer scheme that includes forging partnerships among

banks, MTOs, donors, governments and the diaspora.

-Supporting and Partnering with HTAs

The support that HTAs provide on social development is an important mechanism available

to today’s society. Given the amounts of funds donated (US$10,000 per HTA on average)

and the numbers of HTAs working in Ghana (over 300), it is possible that at least one to

three million are donated every year by these institutions. This means that HTA donations

may roughly represent 5 to 10% of US aid to Ghana.

Fomenting partnerships between HTAs and donor for development purposes is an

important consideration. Caution, however, must be stressed when working with HTAs

because their modus operandi is significantly different to those of other development

players. HTAs are first and foremost philanthropic institutions with an altruistic approach

to given but an inclination to promote development. Often development players have

considered partnering with HTAs but do so with the assumption that HTAs are

symmetrically similar to donors and foundations, thus creating expectations about the kind

of partnerships that can be achieved. Instead, is important to build confidence between the

diaspora and donors. Therefore, before committing funds to work with HTAs, is important

to evaluate a number of factors: a) nature of the relationship; b) scope of financial

collaboration; c) development impact. Assessing the nature of the relationship means to

explore the various types of partnerships that can be achieved. These types include HTA

collaboration for capacity building, technical assistance on community basic development

needs, joint investment schemes in social and economic projects, confidence building and

outreach between the diaspora and the government.

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When looking at the scope of financial collaboration it is important to consider the size of

funds allocated to work in a partnership with an emerging civil society player like the

diaspora. Furthermore, it is important to correctly gauge the amounts committed for

coinvestment projects. Given that HTAs donate average amounts far smaller than those

USAID and other donors contribute, USAID must have a realistic approach about how to

subcontract an entity in charge of managing a development partnership. Finally, it is

important to evaluate the impact of HTAs in development. Not all of the activities

performed by HTAs have strictly a development output and assuming otherwise would be a

costly and mistaken assumption. Therefore, it is important to consider four minimum

criteria to evaluation HTA impact on development: ownership, sustainability,

commensurability and replicability (Orozco and Welle, 2005).

-Establishing a confidence building mechanism: a diaspora outreach office

Given the nature and size of the Ghanaian diaspora, a state outreach policy must be in place.

But to realize that goal, at least five key elements must be accounted: recognition,

communication, a mutual agenda, tangible diaspora involvement in the country of origin,

and investment of resources.

First, state outreach policy towards the diaspora must officially recognize and validate its

communities living abroad. Second, states must establish a communication mechanism

between themselves and organized diaspora groups. Third, both state and diasporic groups

must develop a joint agenda that addresses issues of common concern. Fourth, the

diasporic community must be allowed a substantial presence and possible influence in the

nation-state. Fifth, states must invest tangible resources, both material and human, to

implement outreach efforts. These efforts should be regarded as minimum considerations

for an effective process of cooperation in an increasingly intertwined world between states,

the international community, and diasporas. The end goal of this strategy is twofold:

confidence building and incorporation of citizens.

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References

Addison, E.K.Y., The Macroeconomic Impact of Remittances in Ghana, Bank of Ghana, 2004. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina, Susan Pozo, and Cynthia Bansak, On the Remitting Patterns of Immigrants: Evidence from Mexican Survey Data, September 26, 2004. Black, Richard et al (2003a), Migration, return and small enterprise development in Ghana: A route out of poverty?, Sussex Centre for Migration Research, Working Paper no.9 Bruks Associates, Improving the developmental impact of private remittance flows to Ghana. Ghana,

Bruks Associates, 2005. Henry, Leroi and Giles Mohan, “Making Homes: The Ghanaian diaspora, institutions and

development”, in Journal of International Development, 15, 2003. Orozco, Manuel (2004a), Distant but close: Guyanese transnational communities and their remittances from the United States Inter-American Dialogue, Report commissioned by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Washington, DC. January. Orozco, Manuel (2004b), Diasporas, Development and Social Inclusion: Issues and Opportunities for the Caribbean Washington, DC: the World Bank. Policy brief commissioned by the World Bank. July. Orozco, Manuel (2004c), The Salvadoran diaspora: remittances, transnationalism and government responses, Washington, February; Paper commissioned by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute. February. Orozco, Manuel (2004d) “Mexican Hometown Associations and Development Opportunities” in Journal of International Affairs, Spring 2004, vol. 57, no. 2. Orozco, Manuel, (2004e). The Remittance Marketplace: Prices, Policy and Financial Institutions, Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center, June Orozco, Manuel (2005a), Conceptualizing diasporas: Remarks about the Latino and Caribbean experience, forthcoming. Orozco, Manuel (2005b), International Financial Flows and Worker Remittances: A best practices report. Report commissioned by the Population and Mortality division of the UN. Orozco, Manuel, with Rachel Fedewa. (2005c). Regional Integration? Trends and Patterns of Remittance flows within South East Asia , TA 6212-REG Southeast Asia Workers Remittance Study, ADB, Manila, August 2005b. Orozco, Manuel (2005d). Transnational Engagement, Remittances and their Relationship to Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Washington, DC: Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University, July, 2005

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Orozco, Manuel and Katherine Welle, (2005) “Hometown Associations and Development: A Look at Ownership, Sustainability, Correspondence, and Replicability” in New Patterns for Mexico: Observations on remittances, philanthropic giving and equitable development, Cambridge: Global Equity Project, Harvard University Press, 2005. IAD (2004), All in the family: Latin America’s Most Important International Financial Flow, Washington, DC, January. Shah, Valsa and Matthew Hatton , UK-Ghana Remittance Country Partnership:Scoping Mission Report, London, May 26 2005, DFID, Sheffer, Gabriel. Diaspora Politics: At Home Abroad. Cambridge University Press, 2003.

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Key - Percent of Total US Ghanaian Population Less than 1 % 1 to 4.9 % 5 to 9.9 % Greater than 10 % Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2004

Appendix I: The Ghanaian population in the United States

Section prepared by Micah Bump Population Size For well over a decade the foreign born population living in the U.S. has grown rapidly. In 1990, the total U.S. population included 20 million foreign born. This figure jumped to 34.3 million people as of 2004. Thus, the foreign-born population grew by 14.3 million people, or 71.5 percent, between 1990 and 2004. While the overall upward trend in the U.S. foreign born population has been paced by Latin Americans and Asians, populations from other world regions have grown rapidly as well. This includes Africa, and in particular, Ghana. In 1990, there were 20,889 Ghanaians living in the U.S.. By 2000, this population had grown over 210 percent to 65,570. In the new millennium, the Ghanaian population has continued to grow, reaching 101,169 in 2004. Thus, between 1990 and 2004, the Ghanaian population in the U.S. grew by 384 percent. Geographic Distribution The Ghanaian population residing in the U.S. is highly concentrated in a few large metropolitan areas. As Figure A1 shows, over 35 percent of the population resided in the New York metropolitan area in 2004. The next largest concentration is found in the Washington DC metropolitan area, where approximately 19 percent of the Ghanaians lived in 2004. Atlanta and Boston are also metropolitan areas with significant Ghanaian populations. Figure A1 – Geographic Distribution of 2004 US Ghanaian Population

(n= 101,169)

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Age and Sex As is characteristic of immigrant populations, the majority of the Ghanaian population living in the U.S. is of working age. As Figure A2 shows, over 80 percent of the Ghanaian population falls between the ages of 20 and 54. Ghanaian males slightly outnumbered their female counterparts in 2004. Figure A2 Ghanaian Born Population living in the U.S.

Year of Entry and Citizenship The growth of the Ghanaian born population in the U.S. was fueled by a rapid increase of immigrants between 1990 and 2000. Figure A3 shows that during that interval, 64 percent of the 2004 population entered the country. The vast majority of the Ghanaians who immigrated during the 1990s have not become naturalized U.S. citizens. However, over 58 percent of the Ghanaians that entered during the 1990s have become citizens. This number jumps to 75 percent for the population that entered before 1980. Thus, for the U.S. Ghanaian population, as is the case with most immigrant populations, a greater portion of the population tends to naturalize over time.

20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 5% 10% 15%

Under 14

15 to 19 years

20 to 24 years

25 to 34 years

35 to 44 years

45 to 54 years

55 to 59 years

60 to 64 years

65 to 74 years

75 years and over

Male Female

Age

Percent

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Figure A3 U.S. Citizenship and Period of Entry for Ghanaians in the U.S. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2004, Public Use Microdata Educational Attainment The majority of the Ghanaian population over the age of 25 residing in the U.S in 2004 had a high school diploma or higher degree. Figure A4, showing the educational attainment of Ghanaians in the US, presents data indicating that almost 9 out of 10 Ghanaians living in the US have graduated from high school. Approximately one third of the Ghanaian population over 25 years of age has completed a bachelor’s degree or higher. Figure A4 – Educational Attainment of 2004 U.S. Ghanaian Born Population Ages 25 and over (n = 78,835)

Educational Attainment Percent Less than 9th grade 3% 9th to 12th grade, no diploma 5% High school graduate (includes equivalency) 23% Some college but no degree 7% Vo/Tech/Bus school degree 16% Associate degree in college 8% Bachelor's degree 19% Master's degree 4% Professional school degree 1% Doctorate degree 3%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2004, Public Use Microdata Economic Characteristics Income

Subject Percent U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND PERIOD OF U.S. ENTRY*

Naturalized U.S. citizen Entered 2001 to 2004 1% Entered 1990 to 2000 14% Entered 1980 to 1989 10% Entered before 1980 4% Not a U.S. citizen Entered 2001 to 2004 13% Entered 1990 to 2000 49% Entered 1980 to 1989 7% Entered before 1980 2%

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The mean personal income for a Ghanaians living in the US was $26,328 in 2004. Figure A5 shows that over 85 percent of the Ghanaians made less than $50,000 dollars in 2004. Figure A5 – Personal Income of the 2004 U.S. Ghanaian Born Population Ages 16 and over (n = 93,118)

Personal Earnings Male Female Total Less than $10,000 10.8% 13.3% 24.1% $10,000 to $14,999 3.3% 6.0% 9.3% $15,000 to $24,999 11.2% 11.8% 23.0% $25,000 to $34,999 13.6% 4.5% 18.1% $35,000 to $49,999 9.6% 3.7% 13.3% $50,000 to $74,999 5.8% 3.0% 8.8% $75,000 to $99,999 1.2% 0.9% 2.1% $100,000 to $149,999 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% $150,000 to $199,999 0.0% 0.1% 0.1% $200,000 or more 0.6% 0.4% 1.0% Total 56% 44% 100%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2004, Public Use Microdata Unemployment Over 70 percent of the 2004 Ghanaian born population living in the U.S. aged 16 and older participated in the labor force. The data indicate that Ghanaians were uniformly employed in the civilian labor force, as opposed to the armed forces. The unemployment rate of the Ghanaian born population in the US was approximately 4 percent in 2004. At 5 percent, the Ghanaian female unemployment rate was approximately one percentage point higher than the overall Ghanaian unemployment rate. Figure A6 – Employment Statistics of the 2004 U.S. Ghanaian Born Population Ages 16 and over (n = 93,118)

Population 16 years and over Percent In labor force 71%

Civilian labor force 71% Employed 67% Unemployed 4% Not in labor force 14% Females 16 years and over In labor force 82% Civilian labor force 82%

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Employed 76% Unemployed 5% Not in labor force 18%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2004, Public Use Microdata Occupation The 2004 data indicate that Ghanaians living in the US are most likely to be employed in retail or the medical field. Figure A7 also shows that 23.5 percent of the Ghanaians participating in the US labor force in 2004 were employed in retail occupations and slightly over one fifth are employed in medical occupations. Figure A7 – Occupation Statistics of the 2004 U.S. Ghanaian Born Population

Occupation Percent Manufacturing 7.1% Retail 23.5% Transportation 6.7% Information Services 2.4% Finance and Banking 6.3% Management and Professional 7.7% Education 6.9% Medical 21.8% Hotels and Restaurants 4.2% Services 4.6% Administration 4.7% Other 4.1%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2004, Public Use Microdata