The Effects of ICT/e-Government on Migrant Workers' Remittance Inflows in Bangladesh: An Empirical Study

Abstract

This research article has explored and examined the effects of ICT/e-Government measures and some other significant socioeconomic factors on migrant workers’ remittance inflows in Bangladesh; Sustainable development approach is very much related to the economic growth that can be achieved by higher remittance inflows and related factors such as ICT/e-Government measures. So far, the effects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and e-Government measures on remittance inflows have not been explored adequately in the case of Bangladesh. The literature review shows the effects of ICT/e-Government along with the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, institutional quality, the number of recruiting agencies, the number of banks and financial institutions, financial development, remittance transaction cost, cash incentives as well as the currency exchange rate on the remittance inflows of Bangladesh. The article has been examined using a mixed methods (MM) approach. Secondary data from the World Bank and other institutions were collected for regression analyses using model equations and SPSS. Additionally, a total of 12 people involved in 12 different organizations were interviewed for collecting qualitative data for the thematic analysis; the analysis was conducted using NVIVO. After testing the hypotheses and after triangulation of quantitative and qualitative studies, it has been found that the use of ICT/e-Government measures and some other factors have significant positive effects on the remittance inflows of Bangladesh. Nonetheless, the effects of the number of recruiting agencies and remittance transaction cost on the remittance inflows did not resonate with the research hypotheses. Research findings show that the National ICT Policy and Overseas Employment Policy may also play roles in remittance inflows.