Migrants and Remittances:

Migrants and Remittances:

1. 'Private transfers from Migrant Workers and Diaspora communities to families and villages back home'

   • scale is hidden- statistics are hard to be accurate: formal (bank accounts and direct debit), informal (money in suitcases, not recorded)
     • recorded remittances in 2009 were 3 times the amount of official aid and almost as large as FDI flows to developing countries

2. Top receiving countries in 2010:

   • 1. India = $55bn (4%)
   • 2. China = $51bn (1%)
   • 3. Mexico = $23bn
   • 4. Phillipines: $21 bn (12%)
   • 7. Bangladesh = $11 bn (12%)
   • 10. Nigeria = $10bn (6%)
   • Ecuador: main source of income is oil, second is remittances

3. Increased recognition: phenomenom of the last decade. Key development policy makers= IFIs: WB and IMF, DFID. 2010 World Bank Migration and remittances unit.

   • work within this area has significantly expanded in the last 5 years
     • pressure to meet MDGs- DIY development, fastest growing sources on income

4. Reasons for migration: war, Violence, persecution,

5. Who is a migrant: foreign born resident who has been a resident for at least a year.

   • Migrants are negatively portrayed- however- only 3% of the worlds population are migrants. 97% live in the country they were born
   • Britain 2006: Migrants made up 12% of the work force

6. Issues:

   • Plaster on an economy which isnt producing jobs
   • Deoendency
   • let off the North: takes attention away from trade and debt
   • Based on exploitation and selfsacrfice
   • No equity: those without remittances?

7. In favour:

   • Autonomy- DIY dev.
   • no intermediary, no corruption
   • For specific needs
   • South to South aid

8. Remittances fill in the gap of the state. Can remittances replace NGO contributions?

9. Portes: General view: migration should be good for sending countries because of the safety valve to poverty and unemployment that it provides contributes significantly to the survival of families

   • host nations: compensates for declining and ageing population, meets demand in labour intensive sectors
   • fosters transnationalism: refers to intense traffic of communication, information and resources across places of origin and destination.
   • globalisation from below
   • Does not completely neutralise the negative effects of permanent out migration: depopulation, only modest resources for developmental projects and one generation phenomenom

10. Brown:

    • constitute a more stable, counter cyclical and countervailing resource flow to often volatile and disruptive private capital flows
    • some potential challenges:
      • Informal channels may constrain their potential development impact
      • Remittances are inexplicably linked with migration and immigration policies
    • even during recessions in the host country, the size and regularity of remittance payments tend to hold up relatively well.
    • migration-cum-remittances may in the end fail to generate the net resources required to support sustainable development
    • foster efforts to reduce transfer fees

11. De Haas:

    • Migrant remittance contribute significantly to development and living conditions in sending countries
    • important to recognise that migration does not automatically lead to more development
    • bottom up dev.
    • need to improve legal position of migrants, improve the general social and political-economic circumstances in sending countries

12. Adams and Page:

    • Both international migration and remittances have a strong, statistically significant impact on reducing poverty in the developing world

13. Castenada:

    • underdevelopment and migration will tend to be self-reinforcing

14. Boccagni:

    • the local impact of remittances may result in maintaining consumption standards rather than in significantly improving living conditions. Even so retaining a significant remittance flow is a key strategic interest for a country reliant on migration, such as ecuador

15. Calero:

    • recipient households report that they use income from remittances mainly for education, food, health and rent (89.4%), the remainder is said to be used for construction and property investments (1.2%), household assets (0.9%), acquisition of vehicles (0.3%) and other forms of consumption (1.0%)

16. Datta: Global South are able to avoid structural reform at home