Social Networks, Migration Trajectories and Livelihood Strategies of Migrant Domestic and Construction Workers in Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Recent studies indicate that poor migrants are more likely to depend on social capital among other resources for livelihoods in host communities. Relying on insights from the social networks theory and using qualitative data from two migrant sending regions and one migrant destination area in Ghana, this paper examines the role and effects of networks of social capital on migration processes and livelihood strategies of migrants in the construction and domestic work sectors in Accra, Ghana. The paper argues that different categories of migrants fashion out specific migration strategies based on a complex intersection of social networks, which is shaped by specific contexts. Therefore the various ways in which migrants access, maintain and construct different types of networks in varied social locations and with diverse people needs to be interrogated in a more nuanced way and their policy implications addressed.