Urban impoverishment and multiple modes of livelihood in Ghana

Introduction The economic crisis that characterized many African economies in the 1970s and early 1980s led to intensification of poverty, particularly among urban residents. The increased urban impoverishment has been due in part to the rapid urbanization accompanied by unemployment and underemployment. However the neo-liberal economic reform packages supported by the international financial institutions and being implemented in many of the countries have not been designed to address the problems of urban poverty. In fact, neo-liberals argue that African countries have `urban bias' economies. Consequently, the living standards of many urban dwellers, especially those on fixed incomes have remained poor. The disruption of the established means of income generation of individuals and households has had profound effects on their livelihood strategies. Many people have responded to the changes by becoming involved in multiple economic activities that combine salaried and non-salaried jobs. Although such practices have a long history in African countries (Morna 1989), the neo-liberal reforms have made this strategy imperative for people of diverse socio-economic backgrounds (Chew 1990; Roenen et al. 1997). The changes in livelihood strategies, including those earning fixed income, have eluded academicians and policymakers who have typically focused on the urban poor (1) and their desperate attempt to survive through the so-called informal sector. Emphasis on the poor has led to the use of `survival strategies' to describe responses to economic crisis (Ewusi 1984; Pellow and Chazan 1986; Yeboah and Waters 1997). But as Redclift (1986) argues, strategic responses to economic change are not limited to the poor; many other social groups are also involved. The use of the term `survival strategy' precludes the possibility that the strategies may in fact be a means of accumulation. This paper employs `livelihood strategies' as a framework to capture all responses to economic change, including those meant to ensure survival as well as those employed to accumulate resources. Using the concept of multiple modes of livelihood (MML), this paper examines the livelihood strategies of salaried employees. (2) The purpose is to demonstrate that people of diverse backgrounds employ multiple livelihood strategies both as survival and accumulation strategies. It also highlights the magnitude and complexity of livelihood strategies, as well as factors influencing participation in such strategies. The remainder of the paper is divided into six sections. The next section conceptualizes the relationship between economic decline, urban poverty and the proliferation of multiple livelihood strategies. The subsequent four sections provide brief descriptions of the sources of data and the case study areas, estimate the magnitude of multiple livelihood strategies, examine the nature of MML activities, and discuss the general correlates of MML participation. The final section addresses the policy and theoretical implications of the study. Urban Impoverishment and Multiple Modes of Livelihood: Exploring the Connections Many Africa economies experienced severe economic crisis in the 1970s and early 1980s. A series of external economic shocks, domestic policy mismanagement, political instability and corruption plagued the economies and brought them to the verge of collapse (World Bank 1981; IMF 1989; Jespersen 1992). The urban areas experienced rapid growth characterized by unemployment and underemployment, and a fall in real income that wiped out the colonial legacy of high wage economies (Weeks 1971). In Uganda, for instance, "the minimum wage fell to l0 to 15 percent of its 1972 value in the 1980s and the monthly wage would have brought no more than a week's supply of food" (Jamal and Weeks 1993, 37-38). Regrettably, the World Bank- and the International Monetary Fund-supported structural adjustment programs (SAPs) being implemented in several African countries have paid little attention to the problem of urban impoverishment. …