Employment in agriculture, migration, bilateral aids, economic growth and remittance: Evidence from the Gambia

Abstract

For economic growth in any country must accompanied with skilled migration, persona remittances received, bilateral aid and improve food security through adaptation method of agriculture. In this regards, this study used the important of employment in agriculture, migration, economic growth, bilateral/foreign aids and remittances. We use data from WDI from 1960 to 2017 using linear regression models. Depending on the which variable we choose as dependent variable, the results confirmed that migration and remittances have significant positive impact on employment in agriculture in the Gambia.  The results found out that employment in agriculture seriously has negative and significant impacts on bilateral aids. This may be due to the fact that the foreign aids received for agriculture is diverted to other used that could have less important to the economy growth. The results further explained that migration and economic growth are insignificant optimistic impacts on total aids in the Gambia, while remittance and employmlent in agriculture are statistically significant positive impacts on the total aids in the Gambia.10% increase in migration, increases foreign aid by 50.3%. This results is confirmed by Berthelemy, Beuran, and Maurel (2009) using World Bank bilateral data on the  Effect of total aid on migration-push affect,10% increase in aid in general increases migration by 1.5%. When we used breakpoint date of 1981 and 1994 the results are structural stable due to the coups in the Gambia in 1981 and 1994. In addition, remittance, migration and foreign aid have positive significant impacts on economic growth. Increases 10% of remittance, increase economic growth by 0.14%.Only employment in agriculture has negative impacts on economic growth.10% increases in employment in agriculture, decrease economic growth by 0.04%.The economy of the Gambia should use the foreign aid to improve agriculture production and productivity thereby increase economic growth through export and eat what we grow.