Determinants of remittance outflows: The case of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The Saudi Arabian economy heavily uses foreign labour and hence, ranks among the top countries not only in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, but also globally in terms of remittance outflows. This study develops a theoretical model to investigate the determinants of remittance outflows from Saudi Arabia. The cointegration and equilibrium correction methods, and adjustments for small sample bias, are applied to the data for 1970-2021 using the theoretical model developed. In the long run, keeping other factors unchanged, Saudi Arabia's gross domestic and non-Saudi employment have positive and statistically significant impacts on the remittance outflows, while the impacts of the price level and expatriate levy are negative and statically significant. This study's findings may be useful for macroeconomic policymaking, as the remittance outflows have numerous implications for the development of the Saudi economy. Particularly, remittances are a primary channel for leaking money from Saudi Arabia, reducing the economic growth effects of fiscal spending multipliers.