Economic Impacts of Migrant Remittances

Abstract

Migrant remittances and their impacts are among the most studied topics in the social sciences. They are also often mis-studied. The primary goal of this chapter is to provide an empirical framework to analyze migrant remittances and their economic impacts. Along the way, we critically review selected works in the remittances-and-development literature, though our intent is not to offer a comprehensive literature review. We start with an idealized thought experiment to elucidate identification challenges. Next, we review several empirical strategies that have been used in the literature to identify the impacts of migration and remittances. Our review focuses on the positive and negative aspects of each strategy, as well as implementation challenges. A survey of existing literature follows, organized by outcomes of interest.