Measures of Workers’ Remittances in
Italy
Rita Cappariello
Banca d'Italia - Research Department
Balance of payments Unit
Institutional aspects
Banca d’Italia
Ufficio Italiano dei Cambi
BANCA D’ITALIA
Credit System
Information Department
Banks’ Stock
Data
UFFICIO ITALIANO DEI CAMBI
Statistics
Department
Research
Department
Statistics
Division
Securities Database and
Coding System (ISIN) Division
Nonbank data input
Division
MFI data input Unit
BOP Unit
Credit System
Statistics Committee
Nonbank data output Division
MFIs data output, International banking and
BOP/IIP compilation Division
Type of collection system
• Statistics based on data reported by banks through the International
Transaction Reporting System (ITRS) to the UIC.
• Banks are required to report transactions performed for their own
account and for accounts of their customers (data transmitted
within the framework of the ‘Matrice Valutaria’ or MV)
• Non-banks are required to report their own cross-border
transactions, directly or through the resident banks (data
transmitted within the framework of the ‘Comunicazione Valutaria
Statistica’ or CVS)
• In accordance with the rules in effect from January 2002 for the
European Monetary Union countries, the minimum threshold for
these flows to be recorded is 12.500 euro.
Compensation of employees
This item covers gross earnings of employees for work performed for residents
of other economies, including employers' contributions to social security
schemes.
• The data are based on receipts and payments related to wages and salaries and
on expenditures by foreign embassies in Italy or Italian embassies abroad and
are obtained mainly from the cross border transaction reports.
• These data are supplemented with estimates based on information from the
OECD on the tax and social security system in member countries.
• Further adjustments are made, on the credit side only, since an estimated
proportion of remittances from abroad is attributed to wages and salaries earned
by Italian employees.
Workers’ remittances
The data are collected from the cross border transaction reports.
On the credit side a portion of flows recorded as remittances is allocated
to compensation of employees.
Magnitude of flows
Remittances in 2003 /
foreign born population
Remittances in 2003/
foreign born population
excluding persons from
Europe and North
America
Austria
539.6
860.2
Germany
367.1
494.0
1,510.9
2,118.7
France
509.0
779.7
Italy
908.9
1,066.7
Usa
737.5
878.5
Spain
Source: IMF, Balance of Payment Statistics, OECD and Istat. Calculations.
The opinion of a charitable organisation
The actual magnitude of these flows are likely to be higher than the ones
recorded by the balance of payments statistics.
According to the Caritas the flows of workers’ remittances are about
twice the ones reported by the official data because of an extensive use of
‘informal channels’ of transfer (e.g. ‘Money transfer companies’).
The use of some estimation methods based on surveys of immigrant
households seems to confirm this preposition.
Conclusions…
Thresholds too high?
Improve the information on informal channels?
Use estimation methods from other sources?