Some Perspectives on the Migration of Skilled Professionals from Ghana

In the last four decades, transnational movements of both skilled and unskilled labor from developing countries to the advanced industrial economies have witnessed an unprecedented growth. Motivated largely by deteriorating livelihood conditions in the developing world and increasing demand for wealthy and highly skilled professionals in the developed economies, these movements have attracted a great deal of research attention and inspired public policy debates on their implications and results. Like other countries, Ghana has had a long history of movement of her nationals to various parts of the world for various reasons. However, in terms of the goal of enhancing the benefits of such emigration for Ghana, there appears to be a policy void. This article contributes to filling this gap. It discusses the merits and problems associated with the transnational movements of Ghanaian health and educational professionals and proposes ways to enhance the benefits. It also suggests pathways for aiding future migration policy formulation in Ghana.