Gender, Remittances and the Impact of COVID-19: A Preliminary Analysis

Abstract

Remittances are an important source of development finance, particularly in recent years, due also to increased migration flows at the global level. The recent COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a sudden drop in remittances, and an alarming aspect of the pandemic was that it particularly affected female migrants. Despite the importance of gender for remittance sending and usage, research about international migration and remittances insufficiently considers its role. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to partially fill this gap in the relevant literature by trying to address the following important questions: (1) In what ways is gender important in understanding the sending and the usage of remittances?; and (2) what is the relationship between gender, COVID-19, and pandemic-induced remittance reductions? In doing so, the paper provides an overview of the (limited) literature on the vast influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on female migrants. It also assesses whether gender has influenced the extent to which remittance inflows decreased as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic by conducting a preliminary empirical analysis based on some recent data (albeit limited) on the above nexus. The paper contributes to the relevant literature in multiple ways. First, the detailed discussion of the influence of gender on remittances and the impact of COVID-19 on female migrants has revealed important aspects of the overall relationship that can stimulate further research on these topics and also raises important policy questions for policymakers. Second, preliminary findings of a possible negative correlation between COVID-19-induced changes in remittances and female emigration rates provide some further insights into the above nexus. Finally, the paper raises important concerns about female migrants’ well-being during the pandemic and calls for further empirical research.