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Social Science > Demography

You are looking at 1 - 6 of 6 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Remittances x
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Cover IMF Working Papers
The Joint Effect of Emigration and Remittances on Economic Growth and Labor Force Participation in Latin America and the Caribbean
Alina Carare
,
Alejandro Fiorito Baratas
,
Jessie Kilembe
,
Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov
, and
Wenzhang Zhang
We provide a consistent empirical framework to estimate the net joint effect of emigration and remittances on the migrants’ countries of origin key economic variables (GDP growth and labor force participation), while addressing the endogeneity concerns using novel “shift-share” instrumental variables in the spirit of Anelli and others (2023). Understanding this joint impact is crucial for the Latin America and the Caribbean region that has seen a continuous growth in remittances over the past decades, due to steady emigration, and where remittances represent the largest capital inflows for many countries now. Focusing on the past two decades (1999-2019), this study finds that on average emigration has a negative and statistically significant impact on contemporaneous economic growth and change in labor force participation in the countries of origin across LAC, while remittances partially mitigate this adverse impact—especially on economic growth—resulting in a small negative net joint effect. There are significant differences across subregions for all estimates, with the largest negative effects observed in the Caribbean. In addition, the negative impact of emigration and remittances on the change in labor participation is small, but for the youngest cohort (15-24) is twice as large as for the overall labor force participation. The results are robust to various specifications, variables, and measurements of emigration and remittances.
Keywords:
Emigration; Remittances; Labor Force Participation; Economic Growth; Latin America; emigration flow; emigration rate; remittances in Lac; estimates of emigration; remittances on the migrants' countries of origin; Migration; Income; Caribbean; Central America; South America
Cover IMF Working Papers
What Explains Remittance Fees? Panel Evidence
Thorsten Beck
,
Mathilde Janfils
, and
Mr. Kangni R Kpodar
This paper uses data across 365 corridors to document time and country variation in remittance fees and explore factors predicting variation in remittance fees. We document a general reduction in such fees over the past decade although the goal of fees below 3 percent has not been met yet in many corridors. We identify both cost- and risk-based constraints and market structure as barriers to lower remittance fees. Higher transaction costs as result of a more rural population in the sending country and lower scale are associated with higher remittance fees. However, lower risks due to the stability of fixed exchange rates and Internet rather than cash payment are associated with lower remittance fees. Finally, remittance corridors dominated by banks and few players are characterized by higher fees.
Keywords:
Remittances; migration; access to financial services; remittance fee; remittance cost; remittance corridor; A. remittance; panel evidence; Exchange rate arrangements; Capital controls; Plurilateral trade; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Union of the Comoros: Request for Disbursement Under the Rapid Credit Facility and Purchase Under the Rapid Financing Instrument-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Union of the Comoros
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This paper presents Union of the Comoros’ Request for Disbursement Under the Rapid Credit Facility and Purchase Under the Rapid Financing Instrument. The Comoros’ authorities should use fiscal policy to cushion the adverse effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 shock and bring the fiscal position back in line with medium-term paths once the crisis has passed. In addition to expanding very substantially healthcare spending to meet the population’s pandemic-related needs, the authorities should consider giving targeted and temporary support to the most vulnerable. Monetary policy should focus on maintaining the exchange rate peg. At the same time, the authorities should use all tools at their disposal to safeguard the stability of the banking system, including by providing liquidity to banks facing liquidity pressures and addressing loan servicing difficulties. Beyond implementing their pandemic preparedness plan and strengthening the health care system’s ability to respond to pandemic needs, the authorities are considering delaying deadlines for tax filings and temporarily lowering customs duties for certain imports. They will monitor inflation developments and maintain the exchange rate peg to the euro. The authorities will also do all they can to ease liquidity strains in the banking system. They are also are working with banks to enable targeted loan maturity extensions.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; Comoros' financing; remittances inflow; financing; pandemic; financial support; RFI financing; financing needs; emergency financing request; IMF lending tracker; financing need; Debt service; Current spending; Arrears; Credit; Global; COVID-19
Cover IMF Working Papers
Migration and Remittances in Latin America and the Caribbean: Engines of Growth and Macroeconomic Stabilizers?
Ms. Kimberly Beaton
,
Ms. Svetlana Cerovic
,
Misael Galdamez
,
Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov
,
Franz Loyola
,
Zsoka Koczan
,
Mr. Bogdan Lissovolik
,
Mr. Jan Kees Martijn
,
Ms. Yulia Ustyugova
, and
Joyce Wong
Outward migration has been an important phenomenon for countries in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC), particularly those in Central America and the Caribbean. This paper examines recent trends in outward migration from and remittances to LAC, as well as their costs and benefits. For the home country, the negative impact from emigration on labor resources and productivity seems to outweigh growth gains from remittances, notably for the Caribbean. However, given emigration, remittance flows play key financing and stabilizing roles in Central America and the Caribbean. They facilitate private consumption smoothing, support financial sector stability and fiscal revenues, and help reduce poverty and inequality, without strong evidence for harmful competitiveness effects through shifts in the real exchange rate.
Keywords:
WP; remittance inflow; economic migration; cost of remittance; remittance flow; remittances emigrant; International Migration; Remittances; Latin America; Caribbean; GDP ratio; remittances-recipient country; remittance sender; remittance transaction; remittance corridor; Gini coefficient; Migration; Income; Consumption; South America; Central America; Global
Cover Spillover Notes
Sub-Saharan African Migration: Patterns and Spillovers
Mr. Jesus R Gonzalez-Garcia
,
Mr. Ermal Hitaj
,
Mr. Montfort Mlachila
,
Arina Viseth
, and
Mustafa Yenice
Amid rapid population growth, migration in sub-Saharan Africa has been increasing briskly over the last 20 years. Up to the 1990s, the stock of migrants—citizens of one country living in another country—was dominated by intraregional migration, but over the last 15 years, migration outside the region has picked up sharply. In the coming decades, sub-Saharan African migration will be shaped by an ongoing demographic transition involving an enlargement of the working-age population, and migration outside the region, in particular to advanced economies, is set to continue expanding. This note explores the main drivers of sub-Saharan African migration, focusing on migration outside the region, as this has greater global spillovers. It finds that the economic impact of migration for the region occurs mainly through two channels. First, the migration of young and educated workers—brain drain—takes a toll as human capital is already scarce in the region, although some recent studies suggest that migration may have also a positive effect—brain gain. Second, remittances represent an important source of foreign exchange and income in a number of sub-Saharan African countries, contribute to the alleviation of poverty, and help smooth business cycles.
Keywords:
SN; Sub-Saharan Africa; country; SSA migration; remittance; migration rate; emigration prospect; refugee migration; migration trend; SSA migrant; migration pattern; Migration; Remittances; Population growth; Demographic change; Europe; Africa; Middle East
Cover Staff Discussion Notes
Emigration and Its Economic Impact on Eastern Europe
Mr. Ruben V Atoyan
,
Lone Engbo Christiansen
,
Allan Dizioli
,
Mr. Christian H Ebeke
,
Mr. Nadeem Ilahi
,
Ms. Anna Ilyina
,
Mr. Gil Mehrez
,
Mr. Haonan Qu
,
Ms. Faezeh Raei
,
Ms. Alaina P Rhee
, and
Ms. Daria V Zakharova
This paper analyses the impact of large and persistent emigration from Eastern European countries over the past 25 years on these countries’ growth and income convergence to advanced Europe. While emigration has likely benefited migrants themselves, the receiving countries and the EU as a whole, its impact on sending countries’ economies has been largely negative. The analysis suggests that labor outflows, particularly of skilled workers, lowered productivity growth, pushed up wages, and slowed growth and income convergence. At the same time, while remittance inflows supported financial deepening, consumption and investment in some countries, they also reduced incentives to work and led to exchange rate appreciations, eroding competiveness. The departure of the young also added to the fiscal pressures of already aging populations in Eastern Europe. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for sending countries to mitigate the negative impact of emigration on their economies, and the EU-wide initiatives that could support these efforts.
Keywords:
SDN; CESEE country; CESEE emigration; labor force; CESEE emigrant; migration flow; Emigration; remittances; growth; convergence; Eastern Europe; EU migration scenario; remittance inflow; Migration; Income; Labor force participation; Baltics; Western Europe; Europe; EU policy scenario; UN migration scenario; income convergence; impact of emigration; emigration from CESEE; Skilled labor