Factors Influencing Return Migration to Rural Origin Communities in The Wa West District of Ghana.
Razak JahaImoro (PhD)

Abstract
While the reasons why people out-migrate internally are relatively well documented in the literature on migration in northern Ghana, not much is known about why people return to their rural origin communities. Using structured interviews, in-depth interviews and focus groups discussions, 300 returnees provided data for the study. Returnees were selected through a multiphase, snowball, convenient, and purposive sampling techniques. Results that the major factors that dominated rural return migrations were care for aged parents, homesickness, extended family demands, and responsibility to occupy traditional authority positions. These results challenge the dominant argument in the theoretical literature which emphasizes failed economic motives as reasons for return migrations. This study provided additional perspectives to thehistorical structural theory and literature on migration in northern Ghana by highlighting individual or micro level factors influencing rural return migration of people to the Wa West District of Ghana.

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