Remittance Income Research Articles

Do migrant remittances have state de-legitimizing tendencies? A micro-survey based evidence from Africa

This paper examines the micro-level link between migrant remittances and state legitimacy. The paper argues that there are two theoretical channels through which remittances may ultimately erode state legitimacy. First, remittance income earners may use remittance income to bribe state institutions, and thus may feel that they do not need to abide by the laws those state institutions enact. Second, remittances provide funds for political mobilization and thus may enhance uprisings against autocratic states. I test these claims using individual-level pooled data from 3 rounds of the Afrobarometer surveys. For the quantitative analysis, I use multiple linear regression, propensity score matching, and an informal method of testing for omitted variables bias. Overall, the findings of the study show that remittance-receiving Africans hold de-legitimizing behavior towards the state.

Role of Foreign Employment in Socioeconomic Development of Beldandi Rural Municipality, Kanchanpur, Nepal

This study is about the role of foreign employment in socio-economic development of Beldandi rural municipality. The main objective of this study is to analyze the nature and the role of foreign employment in the socio-economic development of Beldandi Rural Municipality of Kanchanpur district. A micro-level case study type research design was applied in which primary data were collected from a household survey with random sampling methods. A semi-structured questionnaire was applied for primary data where secondary data related to foreign employment were collected from different published sources. Simple mathematical procedures were used to analyze the data. The study findings show that 85 percentage of households got economic security by increasing their economic status from remittance income, and 65 percentages of respondents improved their knowledge and skills and used their skills in their community after arrival. This study also shows that foreign employment has positive changes in the socioeconomic status of respondents. However about 11percent of respondents’ economic status is worse, 35 percent of respondents’ socioeconomic status did not changes and around 54 percent of the respondent’s social attitude changed due to foreign employment.

COVID-19 and Changes in Intentions to Migrate from The Gambia

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in border closures in many countries and a sharp reduction in overall international mobility. However, this disruption of legal pathways to migration has raised concerns that potential migrants may turn to irregular migration routes as a substitute. We examine how the pandemic has changed intentions to migrate from The Gambia, the country with the highest pre-pandemic per-capita irregular migration rates in Africa. We use a large-scale survey conducted in 2019 and 2020 to ask about changes in intentions to migrate to Europe and to neighbouring Senegal. We find that youth say that the pandemic has reduced the intention to migrate to both destinations, with approximately one-third of young males expressing less intention to migrate. The largest reductions in migration intentions are for individuals who were unsure of their intent pre-pandemic and for poorer individuals who are no longer able to afford the costs of migrating at a time when these costs have increased and their remittance income has fallen. Nevertheless, despite these decreases in intentions, the overall desire to migrate the backway to Europe remains high, highlighting the need for legal migration pathways to support migrants and divert them from the risks of backway migration.

The Path of Remittances to Consumption or Saving! Albania Case Study

Since the change of the political systems in the 1990-s in Albania, massive emigration has been a continuous phenomenon of different scales in Albania. The outflow migration phenomenon is associated with the inflow of remittances to the origin families. Remittances have been a vital financial source of living for a considerable number of households. Therefore, they constitute an important financial mechanism for funding the country's economy. Empirical regression analysis in emerging economies suggests ambiguous results of remittances in the economy. Therefore, it is the purpose of this paper to investigate the effect of remittances on macroeconomic variables such as aggregate consumption, national saving, and the economic growth rate in Albania. Econometric models based on the ordinary least squared method (OLS) are performed to analyze the effect among the variables, and time series data are retrieved from the World Bank and Institute of Statistics of Albania databases. Model results based on data from the period 1992-2019 show that most of the remittance income is consumed by the recipient families contributing to the aggregate consumption demand. According to the model’s results, a 1 percent increase in remittances contributes to a 3.2 percent increase in aggregate consumption in the country. While remittances have neither a significant effect on a country's national aggregate saving nor the country's economic growth rates.

Remittances and multidimensional energy poverty: Evidence from a household survey in Bangladesh

This paper explores the impact of remittances on multidimensional energy poverty in Bangladesh by employing a nationally representative Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES)-2016 with a sample size of 46,080 households. Remittance is one of the sources of household income that can be utilized for energy services. Energy poverty is generally described and quantified at the household level, exposing potential household characteristics in terms of energy costs and benefits and access to energy services. Controlling for the relevant characteristics of investigated households, mixed-effect linear regression, two-stage least square, and generalized ordered logistic regression reveal that households with remittance income have a significantly lower level of multidimensional energy poverty in Bangladesh. The outcomes of this work advocate that an upsurge in remittance inflow engenders a strong contribution toward alleviating energy poverty in Bangladesh and likely in other developing nations. National programs should be established for devising policies to promote migrant workers, lowering energy costs at the household level, and investing remittance income into modern energy technologies to ensure and enhance access to clean energy sources.

Does Migration Push Exit from Agriculture in Mexico?

The decrease in the number of agricultural workers is a serious issue in Mexico. We hypothesized that migration might push the head of the household to exit from agriculture. The effect differs between farming and non-farming households because the former could increase farm income by devoting part of their remittance income to agricultural production. This study examines the relationship between the migration of household heads and their engagement in agriculture after returning home and their use of agricultural inputs. We found no significant relationship between migration and engagement in farming for farming households but a negative and significant relationship for non-farming households. In addition, we found a positive and significant relationship between migration and input use in farming households. This suggests that migration is likely to cause the exit of household heads from agriculture, but the possibility of increased farm income by purchasing more inputs may mitigate this effect.

Measuring the poverty reduction effects of adopting agricultural technologies in rural Ethiopia: findings from an endogenous switching regression approach

The purpose of this study is to understand how the adoption of different agricultural technologies can reduce poverty in rural regions of Ethiopia. To attain this objective, this paper uses a comprehensive socio-economic survey of Ethiopia, which allows us to securitize the household level information. The paper uses a multinomial endogenous switching regression model to estimate the impact of alternative technologies adoption on poverty reduction on a sample of 2316 farm households, and a multinomial logit model to estimate the determinants of alternative agricultural technologies adoption. The results showed that the decision to adopt alternative agricultural technologies depends on several variables such as education, regional heterogeneity, remittance income, extension visit, credit access, off-farm activity, soil quality, farm size, tropical livestock unit, distance, plot's potential wetness, and ownership certification. The impact results of the study show that household consumption increases when households adopt alternative agricultural technologies, thereby reducing their poverty. Furthermore, adoption of a package of technologies can result in higher food and total consumption per adult than single technology adoption. The paper recommends strategies for further disseminating and scaling up these technologies to help reduce poverty in Ethiopia.

Changing gender role declines maize yield, but remittances offset: Findings from migrant households in the central Himalayas, Nepal

In this paper, we investigate the interplay between labor out-migration, changes in gender roles, and their effects on the maize farming system. The paper unravels these interactions using the data collected from 1053 migrant households in the mountains of Nepal. The result shows that household size positively and the number of 17–60-year-old household members negatively influence maize yield. Remittance income and raising farm animals enhanced maize yield. Geography, especially maize farming in the mountains, showed a reduction (25.6%) in yield. The migrants’ wives stated less maize yield (5%) compared to the other household members. In addition to these contextual factors, women's increased participation in the household chores, rearing and caring of farm animals, and community activities significantly compromised maize yield. However, the remittance income offsets the loss. As women's role in agriculture is central, especially in the context of male labor out-migration, gender-transformative approaches to research and development practices would ensure social justice and equitable benefit sharing. Accounting for their choices and preferences in developing and designing agricultural interventions is thus vital for the long-term sustainability of the mountain farming systems.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food prices: Evidence from storable and perishable commodities in India.

The supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak have led to changes in food prices globally. The impact of COVID-19 on the price of essential and perishable food items in developing and emerging economies has been lacking. Using a recent phone survey by the World Bank, this study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prices of the three essential food items in India. The results indicate that price of basic food items such as atta (wheat flour) and rice increased significantly during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. In contrast, during the same period, the price of onions declined significantly. The findings may suggest panic-buying, hoarding, and storability of food items. The results further reveal that remittance income and cash transfers from the government negatively affected commodity prices. Thus, this study's findings suggest that families may have shifted the demand away from essential foods during the pandemic.

Remittance and Agrarian Relation in Rural India

This paper focuses on the use of remittance in India since new economic policy 1991 with the two objectives of relation between consumption, remittance and co2 emissions along with use of remittance in rural India. It is observed that household size is positively related to remittance income in India. That means rural urban migration plays a significant role for combating the poverty in rural India.

Transnational lived citizenship turns local: Covid‐19 and Eritrean and Ethiopian diaspora in Nairobi

AbstractThis paper analyses how migrant community practices of transnational lived citizenship were altered by both, COVID‐19 and the policy response from the Kenyan government. It is based on interviews with members of the Eritrean and Ethiopian diaspora residing in Nairobi. The paper demonstrates how policies introduced because of the pandemic caused migrant communities to lose local and remittance income. More than the loss of material resources, however, they were impacted by the elimination of social spaces that enable diaspora lives. These two dynamics have intensified a trend that may have been present before the pandemic, a local turn of transnational lived citizenship. By focusing on lived experiences and how they have been re‐assessed during the pandemic, the paper argues that transnational lived citizenship is always in flux and can easily become reconfigured as more localized practices. The concept of transnational lived citizenship is demonstrated to be a useful lens for analysing shifting migrant livelihoods and belonging.

IMPACT OF CROP PRODUCTIVITY ON POVERTY AMONG FARM HOUSEHOLDS IN GHANA

Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy I & II sought to increase crop productivity to reduce high poverty incidence in farm sector, but the magnitude of impact of the productivity on poverty is not present in all agro-ecological zones in Ghana. The aim of the study is to estimate poverty headcount ratio, poverty gap and poverty severity, and link crop productivity to poverty according to agroecology subject to a two-step instrumental variable regression technique using Pseudo Panel data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS rounds 5 & 6). Farmers’ poverty headcount ratio, poverty gap, and poverty severity reduced from 57%, 25%, and 14% in 2005 to 37%, 14%, and 7% in 2013 respectively. The result further indicates that 1% growth in crop productivity reduces the probability of poverty headcount ratio, poverty gap and poverty severity by 0.28%, 0.38% and 0.75% respectively in all agro-ecological zones. Additionally, the paper shows that education, livestock and remittance income reduces poverty, while household size and great distance to access water increase poverty differently from agro-ecology. The study recommends rapid crop productivity growth by prioritizing technology adoption and institutional coordination to suit agro-ecological conditions among the poor, illiterate and non-partisan.

Remittance-Growth Nexus in Ethiopia: An Evidence from ARDL Bound Testing Approach

The effect of international remittance inflows on economic growth has become a debating topic among policymakers. This study has used the data of 1980 to 2018. The result of the analysis revealed that the Long-run and short-run impact of remittance is negative at 1% and 5% significant level. This implies, the consumption compensatory behavior of remittance income. Other determinants of growth; such as gross capital formation, gross national saving, and foreign direct investment are appeared to be positive at < 5% significant level impacting growth in Ethiopia both in the long run and short run except for the short-run result of gross national saving is not available. While external debt and terms of trade were significant and negatively associated with growth in both the long run and short run at 1% significant level. The policy implications are, the development agents need to focus on controlling the informal flow of money (black market) through reducing transaction costs and training households receiving remittance to divert from consumption to investment. Thus, remittance inflows must be invested in the productive sector before it can positively impact economic growth and thus, for the ease of the more investment climate the better economic development. Keywords: ARDL, Economic Growth, ECM, Ethiopia, Remittance. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-23-03 Publication date: December 31 st 2021

Remittances and households’ savings behaviour in Bangladesh

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of remittance inflow on households’ savings behaviour in Bangladesh. Remittances are considered as the countercyclical flow of income for its recipient economies. It surges the liquidity of the households receiving remittances, allows them to endure local economic shocks and facilitates them to practice productive activities. Remittances often form a big pool of resources for investment which complement the national savings and support the country’s growth through higher rates of capital accumulation. Therefore, if a significant portion of the remittance is used for savings it can lead to prominent economic growth in the long term.Design/methodology/approachExisting literature indicates remittance-receiving households have a greater propensity to use remittance income to meet basic consumption. However, based on the survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics on remittances and household savings (SIR, 2016) and using the ordinary least square regression analysis method, to identify the connection between remittances and household’s saving (SIR, 2016) and using the ordinary least square regression analysis method, to identify the connection between remittances and household’s savings behaviour in Bangladesh.FindingsThe findings of this study represent remittances encourage households to pursue different kinds of savings in Bangladesh. Savings are made in the form of opening savings accounts, deposit pension scheme/fixed deposits/Bonds, insurance policies, also savings through non-governmental organizations, cooperative societies and savings at home. Other than remittances the demographic characteristics of the household head also influence the savings choices.Originality/valueTo enable the implementation of appropriate policies to boost savings, analysis from both perspectives; the household and the national level, requires strong vigilance and surveillance.

Economic Diplomacy and Its Impact on Nepalese Economy

Economic diplomacy is concerned with how a government maintains economic relations with other nations and what steps it might take to enhance its economy. If economic and diplomatic relations are good, more benefits can be reaped from diplomatic partner countries. Economic diplomacy plays an important role in a country’s ability to prioritize and benefit from deployment partners. By developing economic diplomatic connections, Nepal has the opportunity to profit from the neighboring countries. Despite the differences in the ideology and vision of political parties, it is necessary for the country, the people and development to rise above partisan vision and move forward with a new vision. Reaching more economic benefits from respectable and balanced economic diplomacy has become imperative. This study has been conducted to review economic diplomacy and examine the impact of economic diplomatic relations on foreign direct investment, foreign employment, and the tourism economy. It measured the impact of economic diplomatic relations on FDI, foreign employment and the tourism economy by applying multiple regression models. The impact of FDI, foreign employment and the tourism economy has been analyzed from 2001 to 2019. The study’s finding shows that there has been a significant impact on remittance income and incomes from the tourism industry.

Bride price and household income: evidence from rural China

A number of recent studies have investigated the relationship between bride prices and social development. However, there has been little empirical evidence that bride prices affect household income. Based on a unique set of bride price data from China and data from China's Labour Force Dynamic Survey (CLDS), this paper studies the effect of bride prices on rural household income. The findings show that higher bride prices can significantly reduce rural household income. For income categories, higher bride prices have a significantly negative impact on the agricultural income of rural households, while higher bride prices can boost rural households’ remittance income by inducing individuals to work as migrant workers. There is a significant age difference in the impact of rural household income. Finally, the relationship between bride prices and income is an inverted U-shape, and moderate bride prices are conducive to income growth.

An analysis of food demand in a fragile and insecure country: Somalia as a case study

We present an analysis of household level food demand for Somalia, which is emerging from a destructive twenty-year civil war. Using novel World Bank household survey data collected in 2018, we estimate demand elasticities for Somalia taking account of differences in household type, regional conflict, and income remittances from overseas. Our results reveal the extent to which household food consumption, as represented by expenditure, own and cross price elasticities, is highly sensitive to income shocks, especially for animal products such as meat and milk which are the main sources of protein for the population. Furthermore, the impact of an exogenous income shock, affecting food prices and household budgets, will likely result in a less diversified diet because of more emphasis on cereal consumption, especially for nomadic households. The resulting negative macronutrient implications have obvious consequences for levels of malnutrition. As such, improved food security is critical for Somalia’s economic recovery and resilience in the future.

Migrant Workers Role in Rural-Urban Linkage, Case Study: Industrial Growth in Semarang Regency, Indonesia

Rural-urban linkages are part of regional development concern, providing a regional network strategy to deal with the rural-urban divide issue. Industrial growth in the peri-urban area is an important activity that could bridge the linkage of rural and urban. The recent growth of the industrial sector in Semarang Regency, Indonesia, has fostered the surrounding region workers to migrate into the area that promoted the rural-urban linkage. This paper presents a research result of the industrial migrant workers role in rural-urban linkage of the peri-urban region. The research approach was carried out by descriptive analysis to understand the role of migrant workers in the rural-urban linkage. The research collected data from a sample of migrant workers in the regency. The study found that the rural migrant workers as people movement are the main component of rural-urban linkage, which fosters the other linkage components. The workers bring rural social capital from the origin area to support migration and working activity in the urban area. In general, the growth of migrant workers in the industrial sector in the Semarang Regency has a significant impact on promoting rural-urban linkage, especially regarding the contemporary flow of workers to the urban area and spreading remittance income and information surrounding rural areas. Despite the opportunities, the current rural-urban linkages were not yet effectively realized and utilized by the government to deal with the rural-urban divide issue.

Financing Growth through Remittances and Foreign Direct Investment: Evidences from Balkan Countries

The ultimate goal of central banks, worldwide, is to promote the foundations for sustainable economic growth. In the case of developing economies, in particular, such objective requires time, huge efforts, attention, and plenty of resources in order to be accomplished to the fullest degree. This paper thoroughly investigates key factors affecting Balkan countries’ economic development (as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) growth), focusing especially on the impact of remittances. The analysis was done over an 18-year time interval (2000–2017) and builds on 144 observations. The data figures were retrieved from the World Bank database while two dummies were created to test the impact of the last financial crisis (2008–2012). Econometric tools were employed to carry out a broad analysis on the interdependencies that exist and, in particular, to determine the role of remittance income on growth. The vector auto regressive model was estimated using EViews software, and was used to come up with relevant insights. Empirical findings suggest the following: population growth, remittances, and labor force participation are insignificant factors for sustainable growth. On the other hand, previous levels of GDP, trade, and foreign direct investments (FDIs) appear to be relevant for the predictor. This research provides up-to-date conclusions, which can be considered during the decision-making process of central banks, as well as by government policymakers.

THE EFFECTS OF EMIGRATION AND REMITTANCE ON FOOD SECURITY STATUS OF FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA

The study determined the effects of emigration and remittance on the food security status of farming households in Edo State, Nigeria. From four (4) Local Government Areas across the State, 297 farming households were sampled randomly for the study. Structured questionnaire and interview schedule were used to obtain primary data from the farmers. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, food security index (FSI) and a probit regression model. The FSI classification revealed 78.41% of the households with emigrants, 64.75% without emigrants and 72.82% of the pooled results were food secure. Probit regression analysis showed that emigration status at P≤0.01 and remittance income at P≤0.10 probability levels had significant positive effect on the food security status of the farming households. Household size, farm income and access to credit each at P≤0.01, off-farm income at P≤0.05 and farming experience at P≤0.10 probability levels had significant influence on the farmers’ food security status. It was concluded that emigration status and remittance had significant positive effect on the food security status of the farming households in Edo State. Nonetheless, food insecurity still remains a major issue among the farming households in the area that cannot be overlooked by the government. It was therefore, recommended that efforts should be made to ensure that farmers are well enlightened and encouraged through extension service delivery to diversify their livelihood, engage and invest their income in productive farm and off-farm activities towards improved standard of living.