Labour emigration, remittances and economic development: an empirical analysis

Abstract

There have been a lot of controversies on the effects of labour emigration and remittances on economic growth and development in the sending countries. Some concluded a significant positive impact, while others failed to identify a direct link between labour and remittance inflow and economic development. This study therefore, empirically estimated the effects of international labour emigration and remittances on economic development in Nigeria, using annual time series data for the period 1977-2021. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) was employed to analyze the model. Findings suggested a significant positive effect on economic development in Nigeria. Therefore, we concluded that labour migration is an alternative source of income in Nigeria that positively enhanced economic development, hence, should not be discouraged (ceteris paribus).