The Impact of Resettlement in Urban Market Redevelopment on Income Inequality, Its Determinants, and Implications for the Resettled Population: Applying the Kejetia New Market Exemplar, Ghana

Abstract

Resettlement has become inevitable and necessary for urban market redevelopment to be implemented in developing countries, yet it impacts the livelihoods of the displaced population. In Ghana, studies have contributed significantly to the social processes, however, income inequality is rare. Therefore, the present study contributes to the knowledge gap by examining the impact of resettlement on income inequality in Kejetia market redevelopment in Ghana, and discusses their determinants and the implications for traders and drivers before, during, and after resettlement. Mixed methods were adopted using semi-structured interviews for field data. Theil’s T-Statistic was explored to measure inequality into three decompositions; ‘between-groups,’ ‘within-groups,’ and ‘overall’ inequalities to understand its form and trends across the three resettlement stages. The study findings showed complex inequalities in forms and trends at each stage. In addition, the findings lay bare the determinants and implications of income inequalities. Generally, the study concludes that the resettlement project not only induced unsatisfactory incomes and inequality, but equity concerns for traders’ and drivers’ groups, particularly the latter. The key implication of the research is the importance of influencing scholars and policy practitioners to give attention to the income inequality effects from resettlement in urban market redevelopment.