Remittance Recipient Households Research Articles

Impact of Remittances on Remittance-Recipient Households’ SocioEconomic Behavior: A Study in Moulvibazar District of Bangladesh

Impact of Remittances on Remittance-Recipient Households’ SocioEconomic Behavior: A Study in Moulvibazar District of Bangladesh

Labour effects of foreign and domestic remittances – evidence from Pakistan

Remittances are playing an increasingly important role in the economies of developing countries. In this paper, we study the effects of these flows on Pakistan’s labour market. We employ the 2007–2008 Household Integrated Economic Survey and Probit as well as Propensity Score Matching techniques to examine the impact on labour participation, quantity of work and activities of working as well as non-active members of remittance-receiving households. We find that both foreign and domestic remittances tend to lower labour supply of the recipient households. This impact is higher among women and among the young. The impact is more pronounced in the rural areas. In addition, foreign remittances increase the likelihood of household members attending middle school. We also examine the quantity of labour supplied by the remittance-recipient households. Results show little difference in the number of months and days worked between the households receiving and not receiving remittances. Furthermore, we find that the likelihood of being self-employed and cultivating one’s own land is higher among remittance recipients. In sum, our analysis highlights a higher role of foreign remittances in the labour market as compared to internal remittances.

THE BENEFITS OF MIGRATION

This article focuses on the potential benefits of migration. Using the author's previous research on remittances and return migration, some of the welfare gains that can stem from the migratory process are highlighted. In the first part of the article, the impact of remittances on child well-being in Vietnam is investigated. Both the incidence of child labour and school attendance rates in remittance recipient households are assessed. In the second part of the article, the contribution made by Tunisian return migrants to the development of their country of origin is examined. Both analyses suggest that, if certain conditions are met, migration can produce beneficial outcomes for the people and the countries involved in the process.

Internal vs. International Migration: Impacts of Remittances on Child Well-Being in Vietnam

This paper intends to contribute to the literature on the effects of domestic and international remittances on schooling and child labour. Using the information gathered in the 1992/93 and 1997/98 Vietnam Living Standards Surveys (VLSS), we examine separately the school attendance rates and the incidence of child labour in remittance recipient households, as compared to households where this income source is absent. We apply ordinary least squares regression for the two cross-sections and a fixed-effects linear regression for the panel, using as dependent variables the child labour and school attendance ratios of children in each household. Our results indicate that the average child belonging to a remittance recipient household has a lower probability of working and a greater probability of going to school. Although international remittances are found to have a stronger beneficial impact than domestic ones in the cross-sectional analysis, the panel analysis reverses this result, showing that the only significant impact stems from domestic remittances.

School Attendance, Child Labour, and Remittances from International Migration in El Salvador

International migrant remittances can increase household budget and reduce liquidity constraint problems, generating consumption and investment opportunities for recipient households. In particular, remittances can enable investing in children's human capital and reduce child labour, key outcomes from the perspective of growth in a developing country. Using data for El Salvador, this article shows: a) a null or insignificant overall impact of remittances on schooling; b) a strong reduction of child wage labour in remittance-recipient households; and c) an increase in unpaid family work activities for children in those households. Moreover, the evidence shows important differences by gender and age of the child in consideration. While girls seem to indeed increase school attendance upon remittance receipts by reducing labour activities, boys do not benefit on average from higher schooling but some time substitution takes place favouring family work activities over paid jobs. And among secondary school-aged children, the impact of remittance may even be negative for educational prospects. These results suggest the presence of differences in the allocation of resources within the household.

Workers' Remittances to Developing Countries: A Survey with Central Banks on Selected Public Policy Issues

This paper presents the findings of a survey conducted by the World Bank of central banks in 40 developing countries across different regions in the world. The survey focused on the following topics: (1) coverage of national statistics on remittances, (2) cost of transferring and delivering remittances, (3) regulatory regime for remittance transactions, and (4) efforts of developing countries to channel remittance flows through formal financial institutions. The study finds that in most countries existing data do not reflect the full amount of remittance inflows that they receive every year. Coverage of instruments and financial institutions through which remittances take place is limited. Moreover, only a few countries measure remittances that take place through informal channels. It also finds that the scope of financial authorities in developing countries to reduce remittance fees is limited because a large part of the fees charged to customers are set by financial institutions located in the countries where transactions originate. Cooperation between sending and recipient countries is needed to reduce remittance costs. The survey finds that in several countries money transfer companies are not properly supervised. Given the increasing international concerns with money laundering and terrorism financing issues, it is important that basic registration and reporting requirements are introduced for money transfer companies. Registration and reporting requirements should be designed in such a way that they do not deter the further development of this type of financial institution. Finally, the survey finds that most countries need to establish better mechanisms that would allow them to maximize the developmental effect of remittance inflows. By establishing new savings and investment instruments for remittance recipient households, a larger part of remittance flows might be channeled to finance productive investments, thus fostering economic growth.