Gendered dynamics of the flow and use of migrant remittances in Northern Ghana

This paper draws on qualitative data to examine gendered dynamics of remitting and remittance use in households in northern Ghana. The findings indicate that remitting and remittance use are shaped by the interaction of social norms on household provisioning and agency of household members. While social norms on gender roles and conjugality tend to shape patterns of remitting, the household context and the agency of the individual household members sometimes interact to produce remitting behaviours that are not consistent with the general patterns in the community. Gender roles prescribed by the conjugal contract may change when one partner migrates.