Migration, Remittances, and Economic Development: A Literature Review

Abstract

Between 1965 and 2000, individuals living outside their countries of birth increased from 2.2 percent to 2.9 percent of world population (United Nations 2002), reaching a total of 175 million people in the latter year (US Census Bureau 2002). The remittances that these migrants send to their countries of origin are an important but relatively poorly understood type of international financial flow.