Migrants’ remittances: channelling globalization

Abstract

The growing pace of globalization, accompanied by major transformations in countries of origin and significant economic changes in the industrialized countries, has resulted in ever-growing migratory dynamics around the world. Migration is a global phenomenon which touches every country in the world as sending, transit or receiving countries. Remittances represent one of the most consistent outcomes of migration. Through remittances, migrants transfer funds, information, ideas and practices. Remittances link societies of origin and destination by multiple processes of mobility and exchange. Migrant remittances are transfers that are conducted by migrants between countries of origin and destination, consisting of monetary and non-monetary transfers. Monetary transfers are primarily financial in nature, although they can include in-kind transfers; non-monetary flows are primarily social remittances which include ideas, values and modes of action. Whereas capital flows are transfers of money within corporations for the purpose of investment and research and development, remittances are flows of money between a migrant and their family or community in the origin country. Migrant remittances represent migrants’ continuous involvements in their places and communities of origin. Different from capital flows and foreign direct investment (FDI), which are usually sent formally, financial remittances may be transferred by using both formal and informal channels. In some cases, informal transfers account for a large part of financial remittances.