Microfinance and Remittances

Gender, Migration and Remittances

51_10 Representing the second largest source of external funding for developing countries, remittances – money transfers by migrants to their relatives or other persons in countries of origin – are recognized by governments and international organizations as important tools for reducing household poverty and enhancing local development.1 However, it is often implicitly assumed in research, poli...

Remittances and immigration enforcement

Recent increases in U.S. immigration enforcement at the local and state level may be impacting remittance flows to developing countries by curtailing undocumented immigration, restricting the cyclicality of migration flows and limiting employment opportunities for the undocumented. We examine how the remitting patterns of Mexican migrants in the United States are being impacted by two types of ...

Migration and Remittances

Remittances and Relative Prices

Using Mexican data, this article analyzes the impact of the workers’ remittances on the cross-section distribution of prices as well as on the evolution of individual relative prices over time for 272 consumer items. The results suggest that there are important differences in the responses of relative prices to remittances according to various categories of these items. While the relative price...

Remittances and Income Smoothing

Remittances and Income Smoothing Due to inadequate savings and binding borrowing constraints, income volatility can make households in developing countries particularly susceptible to economic hardship. We examine the role of remittances in either alleviating or increasing household income volatility using Mexican household level data over the 2000 through 2008 period. We correct for reverse ca...