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This paper investigates the impact of COVID-19 on remittance flows to South Asia. Using a monthly panel data set of five South Asian countries (namely Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) for the period January 2020 to August 2021. This study, applying the pooled ordinary least square estimation method, generally, finds a positive impact of COVID-19 on remittance flows to South Asia. Further investigation reveals the existence of a non-linear (inverted U-shaped) relationship between COVID-19 cases and remittances. This means that with the initial covid spread leading to temporary restrictions affecting economic activity in home countries, remittances start increasing to support families' income and consumption affected by the regulations. However, the very high levels of infection rates leading to continued lockdowns in home countries decrease the incentives for investment with substantially reduced economic activities, thus decreasing aggregate remittances. We found similar results when replacing infection rates with deaths from COVID-19. However, increasing COVID-19 infection rates and deaths in migrants' host countries reduce remittances to migrants' home countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remittances sent by refugees to their home countries has been a hotly debated policy topic in Germany over the past years and has led to the introduction of a payment card for asylum applicants. This Weekly Report investigates how the share of people living in Germany who send remittances abroad has changed over time according to their migration background (with or without a refugee background) and which factors influence the likelihood of remitting. Based on Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) data as well as the IAB-SOEP Migration Samples and the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Refugee Survey from 2013 to 2022, the analysis shows that migrants without a refugee background send remittances more often, while refugees are often rarely able to send remittances due to structural barriers. Thus, the political debate does not reflect reality. A person’s family situation and their intention to stay in Germany long term are particularly important factors influencing the likelihood that they will send remittances abroad. In this respect, these results should contribute to a reevaluation of remittances, as they are an important instrument in achieving sustainable development goals, in stabilizing the economy in the migrants’ home countries, and reducing poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Does money bring happiness? To answer this question, I study the consequences of income fluctuations caused by commodity price changes on well-being patterns in regions specializing in export agriculture. Using nationally representative survey data in a difference-in-differences framework, I investigate the effects of the 2010/11 short-term increase in the global price of cotton. I demonstrate that it can be viewed as a positive income shock for the cotton-producing communities of Tajikistan. The main results indicate that the net subjective well-being effects of the cotton price increase are negative: exposure to the shock at the aggregate level is associated with a notable decrease in the reported levels of financial and life satisfaction. To explain this paradox, I consider split sample analyses, which suggest that the shock led to within-community occupational sorting and that its well-being effects are negative among households that were in the agriculture sector before the shock and barely positive for newly become farmers. Observing the increasing volume of remittances in the world and their significance to the economy of Tajikistan, I also study how remittances affect the relationship between income volatility and happiness. Further estimations reveal that family remittances are not significantly affected by and can partially mediate the negative effects of short-term income changes. The mediating effects of remittances only affect financial satisfaction, suggesting that a mere compensation of losses does not fully restore the quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses a mixed‐methods approach to evaluate how remittances impact household spending behaviour in Kosovo. Based on a nationally representative data set and using matching techniques, it shows that migration does not cause substantive changes in household spending. While remittances cover basic consumption needs, there are no impacts on budgetary allocations for business investments, health and education. Yet, qualitative research conducted in Kosovo's Opoja region, involving the analysis of 28 open‐ended interviews, unveils a complex remitting mechanism. While migrants send smaller but regular amounts of money to cover basic needs, earmarked transfers are allocated for housing investments and conspicuous consumption only. These earmarked transfers do not enter Kosovar households' budgets, as migrants exercise decision‐making authority over these funds. For policymakers, our findings suggest that standard survey questions fall short of capturing the complexity of the remitting mechanism. When promoting productive investments, it is the migrants who should be targeted as key decision‐makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the promotion of policy coherence of migration and development policies that have figured high on the agenda of international organizations and the European Union but have been hardly explored in the context of Central and Eastern Europe. Based on in‐depth interviews with 40 Czech experts on migration and development, we identified three key contradictions: (i) The increasing prominence of a security perspective on both migration and development policies and the lack of coherence between these policies in practice; (ii) The tension between the national and transnational perspectives guiding migration policymaking and development policies; and (iii) The lack of reflection on crucial issues, such as remittances and brain drain, in the dominant paradigm of labour migration. We argue that the findings on (in)coherence between Czech migration and development policies help us understand policy responses of Central and Eastern European governments since the 2015 'migration crisis'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite numerous studies on the economic transnational connections of immigrants, focusing mainly on remittances to their home countries, the remittance behaviours and related factors of immigrants in South Korea, a country experiencing increased racial and ethnic diversity, remain relatively understudied. Applying a resource‐dependent and reactive transnationalism framework, this study examines the associations between assimilation, human capital, and immigrants' remittance behaviours. Additionally, we investigate whether perceived unfairness moderates these relationships, reflecting reactive transnationalism. Utilizing data from a 2021 Survey on Immigrants' Living Conditions and Labor Force (N = 7981), we delve into various remitting behaviours, including remittance frequency, the share of monthly remittances in expenditures, and the total remittance amount. The independent variables include assimilation indicators (length of stay in Korea and intention to remain), human capital factors (education and income) and perceived unfairness in the workplace. Ordinary least squares and logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine these relationships. Our findings support both linear and resource‐dependent transnationalism: assimilation and human capital levels are associated with immigrants' remittance behaviours. However, the interaction between perceived unfairness and reactive transnationalism was observed specifically for human capital, indicating that immigrants with higher human capital are more responsive to unfairness and discrimination. As a result, they may want to increase their self‐esteem by sending money back to their home country. This study not only contributes to understanding immigrant remittance behaviours in South Korea but also highlights the conceptual significance of examining remittance behaviours through reactive transnationalism, particularly the critical role of perceived unfairness among highly skilled immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study evaluates the impact of returnee remittances (RRs) on the well-being of migrant households in Bangladesh using survey data collected from two migrant-intensive districts using multi-stage stratified random sampling. Our findings reveal that RRs have a positive and significant impact on subjective, objective, and relational dimensions of well-being. The pre-post analysis suggests that sensible investments in human capital and positive agreement on improved social status by migrants confirm their subjective well-being. Increased participation of migrant families in regular social ceremonies ensures relational well-being. Moreover, the findings for objective well-being employing the propensity score matching (PSM) technique indicate that compared to non-migrants, remittances contribute to returnee migrants' land possession, income, expenditure, savings, and investment base. Hence, RRs proved to be an effective medium for ensuring migrant households' welfare in Bangladesh by contributing substantially to income generation, upgrading living standards, and improving the social recognition level. Policies aiming at launching intervention programs of financial literacy including digital finance for safe money transfer and creating a conducive atmosphere for investment are essential to maintain remittance inflows and to foster RR's positive impact more sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study departs from earlier studies by incorporating nonlinearities, asymmetric structures, cross-sectional dependence, and policy variations across countries into the remittance-poverty causal nexus. Due to the high incidence of extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) despite the persistent remittance inflows to the region, data on SSA for the periods 1981–2020 are analyzed using the Hatemi-J data decomposition procedure, a battery of second-generation estimators, and Dumitrescu-Hurlin heterogeneous panel Granger non-causality test. The findings, unlike prior studies, confirm the existence of cross-sectional dependence, as well as the need for policy diversity among SSA countries. The research outcomes also differ from previous research in that they reveal multiple features of asymmetries in the causality between remittances and poverty reduction which vary across SSA countries. Policy differences among SSA nations to address country-specific peculiarities are attested by symmetric causality. In certain countries, remittance inflows are stimulating factors that induce poverty reduction, whereas, in others, the high incidence of extreme poverty is a causal agent that pushes Africans in the diaspora to send money home to help alleviate poverty. Only a few instances of bidirectional causality have been established. Evidence of no causality is found to exist in some countries. The outcomes of nonlinear and asymmetric causalities are more diverse. All of the pairs of positive and negative components show strong evidence of asymmetric causality, which varies across SSA countries with more informative and robust policy dimensions. The imperative policy implications of the research outputs for poverty reduction are drawn and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the nonlinear relationship between workers' remittances and real effective exchange rates for West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) member countries using the panel smooth transition regression (PSTR). The PSTR was estimated with one transition function and one location parameter as dictated by the diagnostic tests. The diagnostic tests reveal that the relationship between workers' remittances and real effective rates is nonlinear. The estimated threshold value is 3.07%. The results reveal that increases in workers' remittances have a depreciating effect on real effective exchange rates in regime one, associated with threshold value of less than 3.07%. However, in the second regime when the threshold value is greater than or equal to 3.07%, increases in workers remittances have an appreciating impact on real effective exchange rates. These results substantiate that the relationship between workers' remittances and real effective exchange rates is asymmetric and as such should be modeled accordingly. Above all, the results confirm the presence of Dutch disease effect in the second regime where the estimated coefficient on workers' remittances is negative and statistically significant. However, there is no evidence of Dutch disease effect in the first regime where the regression coefficient on workers remittances is positive and also statistically significant. Policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemics are biological processes that appear suddenly as shocks. Societies attempt to negotiate such shocks through the interplay of classes, ethnicities, and institutions. In the process, does it create newer fault lines or consolidate the pre-existing ones existing within the socio-cultural and politico-economic structures? The article seeks to analyse this question. The anxiety generated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the abrupt change in lifestyles have agitated the human mind. This anxiousness 'within' is often found to be externalised socially, unfolding a search for the 'other' who can be associated with the virus and thereby stigmatised in the name of the accompanying disease. The 'other' thus becomes the social allegory of the biological moment. But, why do we need the 'other'? This article, moreover, also seeks to analyse these related questions by contextualising the historical experiences and then relating them with COVID-19 in the Indian scenario. It especially analyses how the pandemic influenced the everyday life experiences of those bearing Mongoloid phenotypes in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite expectations of a decline in remittances due to rising US unemployment, total remittances to Mexico increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, although with regional disparities. Using a spatial gravity econometric model with state-level origin–destination data, we analysed these variations, considering regional economic and health conditions and demand for digital remittance services. The study focused on the second quarter of 2020, marked by lockdowns and economic disruptions. Findings suggest a strong link between employment changes and digital service demand, influencing US remittance flows. Results for Mexico support the significant impact of digital services over the altruistic hypothesis, highlighting the need for a regional approach to studying remittances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migrant workforces and remittance inflow have drawn considerable attention in global economic research. During the past few decades, remittance inflow became a crucial economic growth component in many emerging nations. The current study, employing a time–frequency-based wavelet technique, investigates the dynamic causal relationship between migration, foreign remittance, and economic growth in an emerging country such as Bangladesh. The findings reveal the dynamic causal among the variables; however, the results present time-varying movement under the time–frequency spaces framework. Notably, the evidence shows a significant relationship among the variables in the long run. A strong correlation appeared on the 5–16 band scales among the pair of migration and foreign remittance (MIG-REM), migration and economic growth (MIG-GDP), and foreign remittance and economic growth (REM-GDP). The outcomes suggest that Bangladesh's economic indicators are highly interrelated in the long run. Therefore, the fluctuation of indicators altered and exposed a low volatility scale for the Bangladeshi economy in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryptocurrency remittances overcome many regulatory and practical barriers, but there is little empirical research into this increasingly popular remittance medium. In response, this article explores cryptocurrency remittances from Latin America and the Caribbean into Venezuela. Cryptocurrencies as a remittance medium conveys important messages for advocates and critics. To appropriately critique cryptocurrencies, it is important to understand how they are used in the ‘every day’ rather than how their use may be characterised by ideologues. Rather than directly relying on ‘trustless’ and decentralised blockchain technology, ‘really existing’ cryptocurrency remittances are highly intermediated. Access to this medium is often hierarchical, stemming from knowledge barriers but also legal status (and by extension, economic status). The ‘need’ for trusted intermediaries prompts discussions around the relationship between ‘trustless’ blockchain technology and cryptocurrency remittances. This article shows that stablecoins (cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat currencies—usually the US dollar) are the most popular cryptocurrency remittance medium. Stablecoins challenge institutional attempts to geographically restrict currencies, yet also contribute to global processes of dollarisation. This is important to understanding how stablecoins simultaneously undermine spatial barriers to financial access yet may create new ones in the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How have Central Asian publics reacted to Russia’s war against Ukraine? This study assesses overall attitudes toward the war in Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic using survey data from the early days of the war. We find that respondents in Kyrgyzstan are more likely to hold pro-Russian attitudes regarding the war than their counterparts in Kazakhstan. We then examine the relationship between political attitudes and correlates commonly linked to geopolitical preferences generally and pro-Russian attitudes specifically: ethnolinguistic identity, remittances, and media use. Results suggest that ethnic identity holds the strongest and most consistent link to wartime sentiments, with ethnic Kyrgyz and Kazakhs showing less pro-Russian attitudes compared to ethnic Russians. Further results indicate that language and media use are somewhat associated with pro-Russian wartime attitudes, though this relationship varies by context and issue area. Finally, we find limited support for the argument that receiving remittances is associated with political preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Amid high youth out-migration, India's older parents face severe social, economic, psychological, and health crises due to their children's separation. However, remittances from their migrant children alleviate economic hardships, improve healthcare access, and partially compensate for their absence. So, this study examines how adult-child migration affects older parents' physical and mental health and how remittance support helps mitigate these challenges. Methodology: This study used the 2011 Building a Knowledge Base on Population Ageing in India (BKPAI) dataset, the current study (n = 5122) employs bivariate statistics, logistic regression, and mediation analysis to address the objectives. Logistic regression determines the factors of self-rated health and depression, while mediation analysis is implied to understand the intermediate effect of financial support i.e. remittance on left-behind older adult health. Results: The findings indicate that approximately 43% of the study populations were left behind, meaning they have at least one migrant child. Notably, 20% of these left-behind older adults report poor health conditions, and 17% exhibit depressive symptoms, while the poor health and having depressive symptoms were lower among the non-left-behind older adults i.e., 13% and 12% respectively. The mediation analysis indicates that the likelihood of good self-rated health increased 1.35 times through the effect of remittance, which compensates for around 55% of the total adverse effect of migration. Conclusion: The consistent inflow of remittances serves to alleviate the impact on household finances, ensure food security, and address medical expenses. However, it is crucial to recognize that while remittances contribute significantly to economic stability, they cannot fully replace the physical presence of adult children, especially in terms of caregiving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study investigates the complex relationship between economic growth, remittances (REM), export earnings (EEs), infrastructural development (IFD), and environmental sustainability (ES) in Bangladesh over the period from 1990 to 2020. Framed within the context of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, the research explores how these factors influence environmental outcomes and contributes to ongoing discussions on sustainable development. Methods: Utilizing advanced time-series modeling techniques, including autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and nonlinear ARDL (NARDL), this study applies unit root tests and co-integration analysis to examine the data. These methods allow for a detailed assessment of both short- and long-term relationships between the variables in question. Results: The findings confirm the EKC hypothesis, showing that economic growth initially leads to increased carbon emissions and environmental degradation, but further development contributes to environmental improvements. Remittances, however, significantly exacerbate carbon emissions and ecological degradation. On the other hand, technological innovation (TI) demonstrates a negative association with carbon emissions and ecological footprint (EF), highlighting its potential in supporting sustainable development. The impacts of export earnings and infrastructural development on environmental sustainability are mixed, with infrastructural growth in particular linked to environmental degradation. Discussion: The study's results underscore the importance of targeted policy interventions to balance economic growth with environmental sustainability. Policymakers should focus on mitigating the environmental impacts of remittance inflows and fostering technological innovation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While export earnings and infrastructural development play critical roles in economic progress, their environmental implications require careful management to ensure long-term sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to formal banking systems would enable Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to receive remittances through legal channels. This would bring benefits for the refugees, the humanitarian response, and Bangladesh's economy and security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Russian invasion has prompted a new phenomenon: significant reverse remittances from within Ukraine to displaced Ukrainians in other countries. This has implications for the individual recipients, for host countries and for Ukraine itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a natural experiment of rainfall-driven remittances, we provide experimental measures of remittances' effect on rural households' choice of cylinder gas (LPG) as a cooking fuel in Bangladesh. We use the instrumental variable probit (IV-Probit) approach. The treatment of remittances is randomly assigned to households that suffered losses due to a natural shock from the cyclone-Roanu enabling the instrument to identify the average treatment effect for the treatment group (cyclone-affected remittances recipient households). We find that an exogenous increase in remittances by 1,000 Taka causes the probability of using LPG to rise by 1 percent. The impact of remittances is conditional on the household's health expenditures. Remittances' impact on the households' likelihood of using LPG gets stronger with access to clean water and sanitary toilets. The results are robust to potential violations of the exclusion restriction, alternative specifications and instruments, and possibly omitted variable bias. We recommend policies that should utilize overseas migrant remittances as a strategic tool in formulating a financial, legal, and regulatory framework to achieve SDG 7 by 2030. JEL Classifications: F24, Q40, R20. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study's purpose is to examine the factors that influence the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the post-pandemic COVID-19 period in the Kosovo perspective. This study aimed to examine the influence of remittances on the GDP growth of Kosovo from the perspective of consumption and inflation. The impact was analyzed through OLS regression analysis, utilizing data from multiple secondary sources. The findings of the study indicated a statistically significant impact of remittances on GDP growth during the post-pandemic economic lockdown phase. Conversely, there was an insignificant inverse correlation observed between inflation and GDP growth throughout this stage. This study is pioneering in its comprehensive exploration of the factors that drive GDP growth in Kosovo's economy during the post-pandemic period. It is the first of its kind to extensively examine the impact of these factors. The uniqueness of this paper lies in its recognition of the governmental responses to the pandemic and its accurate identification of the macroeconomic factors that played a role in influencing GDP growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the intricate nexus between remittances, migration, and the labour force. It aims to enlighten the interplay of migration and remittances, analyzed in isolation, and their collective impact on the labour market across varying demographical strata. This analysis assumes particular pertinence for Kosovo, characterized by a notable intensity of migration fluxes and remittances. This study uses biprobit techniques to alleviate the endogeneity inherent in remittance and migration to evaluate the correlation between those and the labour force. The empirical data from the Millennium Century Corporation's survey was conducted in Kosovo in 2017. According to the findings, remittances and migration have a significant role in shaping the dynamics of the labour force, affecting inequalities across gender, age, and educational attainment. We surfaced compelling evidence of the disincentivizing ramifications of remittances vis-à-vis the labour force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigated the internal factors that influence the adoption of cryptocurrencies for remittance transactions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by examining the relationships between behavioural intention (BI) and perceived risk (PR), as well as the mediating effect of consumer innovation (CI). Design/methodology/approach: The authors developed a structural model using scales from the literature. The authors distributed an online questionnaire, evaluated by five cryptocurrency experts, using a snowball approach and collected 270 responses. Findings: The results revealed that CI mediates the relationship between PR and BI. Also, CI enhances intentions to use cryptocurrencies for remittance transactions. However, PR has a negative impact on BI. Research limitations/implications: This research adds to the body of knowledge by examining the acceptance and implementation of cryptocurrencies in the UAE and by developing and evaluating new constructs based on current notions. The study also contributes to the current understanding of cryptocurrencies and blockchain adoption. This article focusses on the mediating impact of CI on intentions to employ cryptocurrency instruments for international money transfers. Practical implications: The conclusions of the research give advice for marketers on how to boost the commercialisation of cryptocurrencies in the UAE remittance market and may pave the way for other studies to assist impending developments in the UAE cryptocurrency industry. Originality/value: This research offers novel insights into CI as a significant predictor of bitcoin product uptake in the remittance business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abundant collection of literature investigates why migrants remit. Migrants' remittance‐sending practices can be driven by either altruism or the insurance motive. In this study, I first develop a stylized theoretical framework that generates testable predictions regarding the two frequently discussed motives. Then, using a panel data set pooled from three waves of the China Laborforce Dynamic Survey (2012–2016), I find empirical evidence for migrants' remittance‐sending practices under mixed motives that incorporate both altruism and insurance. Findings presented in this study are of great significance in understanding family ties and the risk sharing mechanism between rural‐to‐urban migrants and households of origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many emerging countries rely on incoming remittances to finance their economic growth, as remittance inflow has a variety of positive knock‐on effects. This study looks at the "remittance‐growth nexus" among the top 20 nations that earn remittances, considering regulatory quality, trade openness, energy consumption, and financial development as controlling variables. It makes use of panel data covering the years 1996–2021, the "Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG)" and "Augmented Mean Group" estimation techniques, and the "Dumitrescu‐Hurlin (D‐H)" causality assessment. The primary estimation findings demonstrate a unique outcome that incoming remittance hurts economic growth (EG). However, EG benefits from trade openness, energy use, financial expansion, and regulatory quality, which have a beneficial impact on EG. The D‐H causality assessment results support the primary estimation findings and also reveal that despite both regulatory quality's and financial expansion's influence on EG, they don't cause remittances, rather remittance inflow causes them. The findings have significant policy ramifications for inbound remittance to be routed to saving and investment, guaranteeing reliable energy availability, enhancing trade openness, a prudential banking system, and improving regulatory quality to affect EG positively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), trade openness, and remittances received on the novel misery index, a measure of macroeconomic dynamics, while considering heterogeneity in misery levels. It analyzed data from 1995 to 2022 across six economically uncomfortable East African Community (EAC) countries. Given the non-normal distribution of the data, a panel quantile regression model was employed to address both distributional and unobserved individual heterogeneity. The empirical findings indicated the weak negative effects of FDI in the lower misery index countries and stronger negative effects in the upper misery index countries. Trade openness shows stronger negative and statistically significant effects in lower misery countries, while its effects are negative but not significant in higher misery countries. Additionally, remittance inflows have a more pronounced positive impact in lower misery countries but show lesser positive effects in countries with higher misery levels. The results are robust even after accounting for additional controls, exclusion of regressors, outliers, and endogeneity issues, suggesting that foreign funds can enhance economic stability for those in misery. The study recommends promoting clean FDI in lower-meminous countries, beneficial trade agreements, and encouraging diaspora communities to advocate for productive remittances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many scholars have used neoliberalism as an analytical framework to examine the Philippines' labour export policy. While neoliberalism entails a retreat of the state in favour of market reforms, evidence shows that state intervention of the market becomes larger and stronger over time. This paper utilises liberal neo‐statism as an alternative framework to understand the Philippines' nurse labour export by explaining that the state's role is larger than and goes beyond labour brokerage. Following the historical institutionalism approach, we show the significant timing, sequence, and path dependence that affect the emergence of institutions that govern the Philippines' nurse labour export. Our paper reveals how specific policies and regulations in labour export are tucked within the disguise of market reforms, but which are manifest within a larger state's control. These policies serve as the state's apparatus for remittance generation and protection of migrant labour rights and welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many studies examine the remittances sent by migrants to their home countries, little is known about the financial resources that flow from home countries to migrants abroad, also known as reverse remittances. Following an in-depth analysis of the limited existing literature, our study focuses on the practice of financial reverse remittances among migrants living in the Italian region of Lombardy to assess their incidence, their relationship with the migrants’ migration stage, and the occurrence of economic hardship. We build on a quantitative survey of 4,000 migrants carried out in 2014. Our research shows that overseas students, long-term migrants living with a partner, and, in general, migrants facing economic hardship and job insecurity are more likely to receive financial reverse remittances. The implications of our findings in light of the 2007–2008 global financial crisis in Italy are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of wealth loss induced by over-quota birth fines on household economic well-being in China. We find that household labour supply adjusts to fertility fines primarily via the extensive margin of maternal labour supply, which is followed by higher savings rates and more remittances sent home. Fertility fines have no effects on non-food consumption; however, they significantly decrease food consumption. We propose two instrumental variables and placebo tests as identification strategies, all of which yield consistent results. Our study deepens the understanding of how households respond to over-quota birth fines and sheds light on responses to negative wealth shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international reserves reflect the economy's strength by honoring its financial liabilities. Hence, this paper analyzed the effect of remittances and financial development on international reserves in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) economies from 1960 to 2022. By employing econometric analysis, the paper reveals a significant and positive influence of remittances and financial development on international reserves. In addition, we reveal a positive and significant association between remittances and financial development and international reserves in the long run. Further, a short-run relationship exists between financial development and international reserves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does the receipt of remittances affect the likelihood of engaging in civic and political activities in the Middle East and North Africa? Research in Latin America and Africa has found two contradictory effects. Remittances can increase recipients' capacity for political participation by providing them with greater economic resources. But remittances may also reduce the incentive for political participation by lessening the importance of the domestic economy to the livelihood of recipients. Using survey data from Arab Barometer, I show that remittances are associated with a greater likelihood of engaging in non-electoral political activities, including protests, strikes and contacting elected officials, and (to a smaller extent) with electoral participation. To explore the relationship between remittances and political participation in greater depth, I report the results of interviews with 54 remittance-receiving families in Jordan and Tunisia. This qualitative evidence suggests that the greater relative economic security offered by remittances allows recipients to devote more resources, particularly time, to civic and political participation. The interviews also revealed a strong conditioning effect of gender: women are more likely to use remittances to donate time and money to non-political civil society organisations, while men are more likely to use remittances to conduct explicitly political activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers the first approach to the evolution of the structure and the participants in the remittances market of the United States-Mexico corridor. We identify three different layers in the structure and specify the agents that involve clients, remittance providers, and correspondent banks from 1980 to 2020. We show the structural limitations of the market and suggest how the digital economy and financial technology (fintech) could help to reduce the average cost of cross-border payments. The potential benefits from fintech to the remittances market are espe cially relevant for Mexico since it has a high proportion of unbanked population. Furthermore, the reduction to 3% of the remittance fees has been defined as one of the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. A better and deeper understanding of the characteristics of this market could help to achieve this goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on feminist political economy and social reproduction theory, we propose an accounting framework for understanding the distributional role of household production, employment, remittances and government social transfers in the social reproduction of the Cuban people. We apply this quantitative framework to available data and produce estimates for 2016. Our findings demonstrate that households – both domestic and diasporic – were the largest contributors to social reproduction in Cuba. Our empirical exercise reveals how the actual distributional arrangements underlying Cuban social reproduction differ from the official commitments and goals of the Cuban Revolution. The relative contributions in 2016 signal several potentially unsustainable self-reinforcing dynamics that undermine efforts to achieve gender and racial equality on the Island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remittances are regarded as an important source of foreign exchange for the majority of low and middle-income countries, and thus have the potential to impact their aggregate economic activities. The current study investigates the impact of remittance inflows and international oil prices on India's trade balance from 1975 to 2020. We use a non-linear autoregressive and distributed lag model to examine the asymmetric impact of remittance and oil price changes on trade balance. The study discovered that rising remittance inflows have a detrimental long-run impact on the trade balance. It also demonstrates that while a positive oil price shock worsens the trade balance, a negative oil price shock improves it in the long run. As a result, the paper emphasises the need to reduce skilled migration, properly channel remittance revenues, develop financial institutions, and implement more efficient exchange rate policies in order to achieve long-term trade surpluses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the impact of migration on economic development is more focused in this study, the opposite effect cannot be ignored and the controversial nature of the interaction of both effects is reexamined. Of course, there are significant gaps that cannot be overlooked: the relationship between migration and development varies from context to context, depending on the scale and nature of migration flows, the experience of migrants, and the economic, political and social conditions in their home countries. Alternative migration regimes should not be expected to produce any uniform outcomes for the development of diverse patterns of skilled and unskilled workers, temporary and permanent migrants, men and women, lone migrants and families who move. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mexican Journal of Economics & Finance / Revista Mexicana de Economia y Finanzas is the property of Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The US and Mexican labor markets are closely linked through migrant workers and remittances, and changes in remittance flow may alter labor allocations in the origin households. In this paper, we investigate how the prevalence of COVID-19 in the United States affected the local labor market in Mexico. We construct a Mexican municipality-level measure of exposure to COVID-19 in the United States using data on COVID-19 prevalence across the country and data on migrants' destinations in various states. We find a positive effect of COVID-19 exposure in the United States on hours worked among workers in Mexico, yet no significant effects were found for local wages. We also find that the effect varies across subgroups, which indicates that the responses in hours worked depend on household dynamics, the nature of the occupation-specific tasks, and migration intensity. Finally, we document the potential mechanism behind the effect on hours worked, that is, through the changes in remittances sent to the origin municipalities in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses the effect of migrant remittances (MR) on conflicts in SubSaharan Africa. From a sample of 45 countries, we specify and estimate a panel data model using the two-way fixed effects method (TWFE) whose robustness is proven by the system generalized method of moments (S-GMM) and the lagged explanatory variables method (LEVM) over the period from 2000 to 2020. Two main results emerge. Firstly, MR significantly increases conflicts in SSA. Secondly, the effects of MR on conflicts are mediated by corruption, education, diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT), and financial development. The results remained robust and sensitive to the exclusion of countries in situations of intense conflict, serious conflict, intense and serious conflict, and cultural variables. We suggest the consolidation of legislation on MR and setting up a traceability system to control their volume and channel them as far as possible towards productive investments to the detriment of conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the effect of remittances on selected Indian macroeconomic variables, including output growth, inflation, exchange rate, stock returns, and the money supply. We further divide remittances into an increase and decrease in remittances to explore the asymmetric effect of remittances. Using a novel local projection method and quarterly data from 1997Q2 to 2019Q4, it is found that remittances have a significant and asymmetric effect on the Indian economy. The increase in remittances has an immediate effect, while the decrease in remittances has a delayed effect by around 6 to 8 quarters. The study concludes by arguing that not only the growth of remittances but also their asymmetric effect may be crucial for policy analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the determinants of new firm creation in Africa, focusing on external and internal funding sources and their interactions. It also explores the influence of colonial history by separately analyzing former British and French colonies. The primary goal is to help fill crucial gaps in African literature on the determinants of entrepreneurship. Given Africa's widespread poverty and underdevelopment, understanding what drives entrepreneurship is essential for job creation and economic growth. The study reveals three key findings. First, at the full sample level, remittances are the only external financing source positively associated with new firm creation, while foreign aid and foreign direct investment obstacle it. Internal sources, like savings and credit, do not show significant effects. Second, the subsample analysis reveals heterogeneous results: former British colonies' funding sources align with the overall findings, while in former French colonies, only savings support entrepreneurship. Third, considering control variables, the subsample analysis indicates two distinct entrepreneurship models: opportunity-based in former British colonies and necessity-based in former French colonies. These findings are noteworthy and provide significant policy implications at both national and international levels. Crucially, the positive role of remittances in financing new business initiatives, confirms that migration serves as a mutually beneficial arrangement for both sending African countries and the host countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The various theories concerning migration are demonstrating that migration is a complex phenomenon, with equally complex and diverse implications. At the same time, society is in constant change, and major shifts at the international level could generate new migratory flows or different perspectives on this phenomenon. The effects of migration manifest in various fields, and the sciences concerned with migration address them specifically in their areas of influence. The most evident consequences appear from a socio-economic perspective. Labour emigration has had significant economic impacts, including reductions in GDP, wage shifts and a weakening of innovation potential and while remittances provide some financial relief, they are insufficient to offset the broader challenges created by labour shortages. The negative long-term effects on competitiveness and productivity underscore the need for comprehensive policy responses to mitigate the economic consequences of emigration. Romania has one of the largest diasporas in Europe, and the economic effects of this migration are vast. By choosing to analyze these two components – GDP and remittances, we can capture both the losses and benefits generated by migration for Romania’s economy. The study of GDP reflects the losses in terms of internal production, while the analysis of remittances shows how these external financial flows can contribute to the stabilization and regional economic development. By focusing on GDP and remittances, our paper will provide a well-founded perspective on the real impact of migration on Romania's economy, using specific data and relevant economic analyses to highlight both the challenges and opportunities.

The study examined the impact of remittances on economic development in Nigeria between 1980 and 2020. ARDL (Auto-regressive Distributed Lag) is used in this study. An analysis of the unit root test was conducted in which variables such as gross domestic product per capita, gross fixed capital formation and as well as inflation, which is integrated with order zero I(0), and variables such as exchange rate, household consumption expenditure and remittances are integrated of order one I(1). In order to confirm the long-term relationships among the variables, the Co-integration bound test was used. Long-term relationships were confirmed between the variables. In addition, the study was free of serial correlations and stable. The study revealed that a positive relationship exists between remittances, gross fixed capital formation and household consumption expenditure to gross domestic product per capital (economic development) and a negative relationship between real exchange rate and gross domestic product per capital. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that remittances have a positive impact and are linked to economic development in the long run, and that remittances should be encouraged as an alternative means of financing investment.

This paper examines the cyclicality of remittance inflows to economies in Asia and the Pacific, aiming to identify major factors associated with remittances using gravity models of bilateral remittances. An analysis that assesses correlation coefficients between the cyclical factors of remittances and gross domestic product suggests that remittances tend to be countercyclical, or acyclical, against the business cycle of the remittance-receiving economy relative to the sending economy. This observation is confirmed by the gravity models of bilateral remittances. Furthermore, the estimation results suggest that migrant stock is one of the most significant factors affecting bilateral remittances. The study also shows that an increase in bilateral remittances can be attributed to a higher occurrence of disasters triggered by natural hazards in receiving economies, an appreciation of the receiving economy’s currency value against the sending economy’s, a lower interest rate differential (receiver–sender), greater capital account openness, more political instability, and lower costs of remittances.

Countries all over the world focus on industrialization as a foundation for rapid economic development and unemployment reduction. Without stable external and domestic finance, we cannot achieve this goal. Financial volatility has an impact on a country’s industrialization process. The aim of this study is to determine how external and domestic credit volatility affect industrialization in Africa. Data for some selected countries for 1992–2020 was used. The author used the Prais-Winsten regression method with Panel Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) to estimate and analyze the model. Descriptive and quantitative methods of analysis were also used to analyze the long-balanced panel data set for the 17 selected African countries with available data. The results showed a combination of positive and negative effects of financial volatility on industrialization in Africa. The study concludes that domestic credit volatility has adversely affected industrialization in Africa and recommends the development of financial institutions on the continent through recapitalization, skilled manpower development and innovative development of different financial instruments.