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Impacts of Migration as Adaptation: Assessing Translocal Social Resilience in Eastern, Northern and Greater Accra Regions, Ghana

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Population Space and Place

Published online on

Abstract

["Population, Space and Place, Volume 32, Issue 5, July 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nMigration is increasingly recognised as an adaptive strategy to enhance social resilience amid environmental and socioeconomic stressors. However, systematic assessments of its impact on both migrants and their households remain limited. This study applies the translocal social resilience framework to analyse migration outcomes across origin and destination areas, individual and household levels, and their intersection as translocal dyads. Using the quantitative bi‐local survey data from the “Migration and Translocality in West Africa” project in Ghana, we assess how migration shapes social resilience among 100 household‐migrant pairs. Our findings reveal that three sub‐groups of migrants are more likely to experience improved resilience: those from the Eastern Region, men, and those with higher socio‐economic endowments. However, these gains are not always mirrored at the household level. Only one in four dyads achieves mutually beneficial outcomes; most fall into “asymmetrical livelihoods”, where migrants thrive but households experience emotional distress or reduced resilience. The regional origin, gender and class of individuals are key structural determinants of resilience outcomes. This study provides a nuanced, systems‐based understanding of migration as adaptation, and highlights the need for regionally specific, gender‐sensitive, and cross‐scalar policy approaches.\n"]