Do migrant remittances affect household spending? Focus on wedding expenditures

Abstract

We use nationally representative survey data and propensity score matching to investigate the impact of remittances from labor migrants on households’ wedding expenditures. The investigation provides evidence that remittance-receiving households spend a smaller share of their budget on wedding ceremonies. Since lavish wedding ceremonies serve the purpose of increasing households' social status through conspicuous displays of wealth, the study concludes that remittance-recipient households are less likely to be engaged in conspicuous consumption than are households that do not receive remittances.