REMITTANCES
Econ 490
Professor Castillo
Ivan Camacho
Arthur Cho
What Is Remittance?

The transfer of money by a foreign worker to
his/her home country.
Overview

Major roles of remittances

Microeconomic Determinants

Key statistics

Macroeconomic Determinants

Global Impact

Macroeconomic Impacts

Advantages/Disadvantages

Microeconomic Impacts

Policymaking

Trend of Remittance flows

Causes of Remittances
Major roles of remittances

Count as the 2nd largest source of capital inflow to many developing
countries.

Only foreign direct investment account for more sources of external finance.

Remittances exceeds inflows that come from international aid.


Receiving countries become more dependent on global economies rather
than sustaining their own local economies.
Promotes economic growth in developing countries.
Key Statistical Data


Developing countries receive the highest amount of remittances.
One-third of remittances to the developing world go to India, China, and
Mexico.
Share of remittances in GDP
Tajikistan
50%
Moldova
31%
Lebanon
25%
Top recipient countries 2008
India
$51.5 billion
China
$48.5 billion
Mexico
$26.3 billion
Philippines
$19.1 billion
Statistical Map
Global Impact
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
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In the past, remittances received little attention from governments and
financial markets because they were usually sent in small amounts.
Now they are large in the aggregate and are important to developing
countries.
World Bank estimates $240 billion in total remittances in 2007, a
staggering jump from only $31.2 billion in 1990.
Remittances exceed all other imports of private and public capital in 36
developing countries.
Advantages


Finance much needed investment in recipient countries to contribute to
increased productivity.
Believed to reduce poverty. Mainly due to the poor that migrate and send
back remittances.

Increase of income in households also increase consumption.

Remittances do not have to pay interest.



More stable than foreign direct investment or foreign portfolio investments.
These are highly volatile in developing countries.
Unskilled workers may return to their home countries with useful skills
acquired abroad.
Recipients have a higher propensity to own bank accounts.
Disadvantages



Promotes idleness among the recipients.
May cause appreciation of receiving country’s currency. Thus leading to
lower net exports and negative economic growth.
Some emigrants may be educated or highly skilled causing what commonly
known as “brain drain”.

Loss of human capital lowers productivity and economic growth.

Home country invested time, effort and money on their education.

Migration of skilled workers worsens the distribution of income between rich and
poor countries.
Policymaking


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Policymakers in developed host countries have become interested in the
large flow of remittances.

Channel remittances into productive investments

Encourage banks to offer remittance services to migrants in host countries
Supervise and push remittances to be sent through official channels.
Increases in remittances have spawned many private money transfer
businesses.

MoneyGram

Western Union
Trend of Remittance Flows


Most of the developing world has been increasing flows of remittances by
double digits annually between 1990-2005.
Source: Global Economic Prospect 2006, and World Development Indicators, 2007, Washington DC: World Bank.
Remittances by region (US$ billions)
1990
1995
2000
Eastern Europe and Central Asia
3.2
8.1
13.4
East Asia and Pacific Region
3.3
9.7
16.7
South Asia
5.6
10
17.2
Latin America and Caribbean
5.8
13.4
20.1
Middle East and North Africa
11.4
13.6
13.2
Sub-Saharan Africa
1.9
3.2
4.6
2005 Annual growth
30.8
15.1%
43.9
17.3%
34.9
12.2%
47.6
14.0%
23.5
4.8%
7.4
9.1%
Causes of Remittance Growth


15.1% growth in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

1990s changed to free market economies

Permitted labor migrations to oil-rich Middle East and industrialized Western
Europe
17.3% growth in East Asia and Pacific Region

Expansion of economic activity caused labor shortages in Japan, South Korea,
Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore in the 1990s

Increased migrant labor originating from Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia
Causes of Remittance Growth (cont.)


12.2% growth in South Asia

Implementation of an economic liberalization program in India.
 Lifted regulations to foreign exchange and travel abroad for work

Explosion of information technology industry in the US attracted large numbers
of South Asians, mostly Indians.
14.0% growth in Latin America and Caribbean

The implementation of NAFTA and the economic boom of the 1990s sharply
increased the demand for workers in the US and Canada.
Microeconomic Determinants

Migrants care about the households well being and remit to improve living
conditions (Altruism). Ex: Household Consumption

Self interest motives. Ex: Investment in home country
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Insurance purposes. Ex: Emigrant/Household income risk.

Implicit loan arrangement. Ex: Emigrant is paying back to the household for
the investment made.
Macroeconomic Determinants


Depreciations of the home currency can increase the purchasing power of
remittances in the home country. Ex: Migrants who settle in the U.S. earn money in
U.S. dollars, but their transfers to family and others back home are usually
converted into the domestic currency.
Take of advantage of the depreciation by investing more in the home country if the
immigrant has investments in both countries, but plans to return eventually to the
home country.
Macroeconomic Impacts



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Augmentation of the capital stock through financing investment are conducive to
growth.
Decrease in labor supply and a negative impact on the tradable sector have
adverse consequences for the receiving country.
Economic development is that remittances are often used for investment in the home
country.
Inflationary pressures or cause a phenomenon. This can appreciate the local
currency and crowd-out exports.
Distribution of income increases inequality.
Microeconomic Impacts


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Increase in remittances shifts the receiving household’s budget constraint outward by
the amount of the transfer and therefore should have a positive impact on
household consumption.
Remittance receiving households spend more on education, health, and housing.
Remittance-receiving households devote a larger proportion of current expenditures
to investment and savings, and have lower income elasticities for current consumption
and for durable goods.
Microeconomic Impacts



It is possible that after receiving remittances the labor supply of some household
members decreases.
Remittances can give the household the initial capital necessary to start a small
business.
May increase the education of children in the household.
Impact of Economic Downturn
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IdufxY0wLg
Sources
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GRABEL, ILENE. "Remittances: Political Economy and Developmental Implications." International Journal of
Political Economy 38.4 (2009): 86-106. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.
Pradhan, Gyan, Mukti Upadhyay, and Kamal Upadhyaya. "Remittances and economic growth in developing
countries." European Journal of Development Research 20.3 (2008): 497-506. Business Source Premier.
EBSCO. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.
Ruiz, Isabel, and Carlos Vargas-Silva. "To Send, or Not to Send: That is the Question. A Review of the
Literature on Workers' Remittances.“ Journal of Business Strategies 26.1 (2009): 73-98. Business Source
Premier. EBSCO. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.
Solomon, Blen. "The Impact of Risk and Uncertainty on Remittances into Latin American Economies." Journal
of Business Strategies 26.1 (2009): 99-117. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 1 Mar. 2011
Zarate-Hoyos, German A. "CONSUMPTION AND REMITTANCES IN MIGRANT HOUSEHOLDS: TOWARD A
PRODUCTIVE USE OF REMITTANCES." Contemporary Economic Policy 22.4 (2004): 555-565. Business
Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.
Questions?