World Bank Working Paper
2 total works
Migrant Remittance Flows
by Jacqueline Irving, Sanket Mohapatra, and Dilip Ratha
Published 26 March 2010
Migrant remittances provide the most tangible link between migration and development, having significant potential to reduce poverty and spur socioeconomic development. Drawing on the findings from responses to a survey conducted in 2008-09 from 114 central banks worldwide (of which 33 are in Africa), this paper aims to better understand how central banks and other national institutions regulate and collect data and other information on cross-border remittance flows. Findings indicate that, although the vast majority of countries, in both sending and receiving countries, collect data on remittances, and 43 percent of receiving countries estimate informal remittances, there is a need for more frequent and better coordinated data collection, both across national institutions and among different divisions within the same national institution, as well as between countries. Countries must take into account new channels and technologies, such as mobile phone service providers, in monitoring remittance flows, as the survey results indicate that many new market entrants?? transfer activities are unregulated.
It will be important for national regulatory authorities to work closely with mobile telecoms network operators to strike the right regulatory balance, to better understand these new channels?? associated risks and fully tap their potential for fostering inexpensive, efficient remittance transfer services. Policy reforms and initiatives are needed to address the high cost of transfers, cited in the survey as the top factor inhibiting migrants from using formal channels. Building further on the recent progress by many countries, particularly in Africa, in rendering exclusivity contracts illegal would help increase competitiveness and reduce transfer costs.
It will be important for national regulatory authorities to work closely with mobile telecoms network operators to strike the right regulatory balance, to better understand these new channels?? associated risks and fully tap their potential for fostering inexpensive, efficient remittance transfer services. Policy reforms and initiatives are needed to address the high cost of transfers, cited in the survey as the top factor inhibiting migrants from using formal channels. Building further on the recent progress by many countries, particularly in Africa, in rendering exclusivity contracts illegal would help increase competitiveness and reduce transfer costs.
South-South Migration and Remittances reports on preliminary results from an ongoing effort to improve data on bilateral migration stocks. It sets out some working hypotheses on the determinants and socioeconomic implications of South-South migration. Contrary to popular perception that migration is mostly a South-North phenomenon, South-South migration is large. Available data from national censuses suggest that nearly half of the migrants from developing countries reside in other developing countries.Almost 80 per cent of South-South migration takes place between countries with contiguous borders. Estimates of South-South remittances range from 9 to 30 per cent of developing countries' remittance receipts in 2005. Although the impact of South-South migration on the income of migrants and natives is smaller than for South-North migration, small increases in income can have substantial welfare implications for the poor. The costs of South-South remittances are even higher than those of North-South remittances.
These findings suggest that policymakers should pay attention to the complex challenges that developing countries face not only as countries of origin, but also as countries of destination.
These findings suggest that policymakers should pay attention to the complex challenges that developing countries face not only as countries of origin, but also as countries of destination.