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The impact of Urbanization on the socioeconomic development of Ghana
Aikins, Michael Boako
At independence Ghana had about 70% of it populace leaving in the rural areas but now the country is over 50% urbanized. People are changing from agricultural occupation to business, trade, services and other professions in search for a quality life style. Major cities in Ghana such as Accra, Kumasi and now the oil city Takoradi are now facing urban management challenges since the cities are becoming more and more dirty and unkempt. Drawing on data from the Living Standard Survey Reports for Round 5-6 that spans from 2008 to 2014 for Ghana, this study examines the effects of urbanization on socio-economic development in Ghana. The study demonstrates some association of urbanization with developmental outcomes in education, health, employment and housing. It examines urbanization by using patterns of internal migration, noting that people move from relatively poor areas to richer ones in Ghana. While it is difficult to establish causality, the evidence suggests that while urbanization happens mostly by internal migration, such moves may allow poor people to access better opportunities in richer regions in Ghana. This study then looks more carefully at the association between internal migration and some socio-economic indicators of education, health, employment and housing at the state level and to some degree at the household level. A key finding of this research is the association of urbanization of educational attainment for female and a positive life expectancy in general. In addition, urbanization has not had entirely positive relationship on employment and housing in the big cities in Ghana.
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