Download or read book The Effects of Diaspora Remittances on the Kenyan Economy MBA Thesis a Ccompanied by a CD ROM written by and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 79 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this study was to analyse the effect of remittances received from Kenyans residing abroad on macroeconomic factors in Kenya. This study was guided by the following research objectives: (i) To determine the effect of remittance flows on Kenya?s GDP; (ii) To determine the effect of remittance flows on investments in the Kenyan securities market; (iii) To determine the effect of remittance flows on bank interest rates in Kenya and (iv) To determine the effect of remittance flows on foreign exchange rates in Kenya. The research design was explanatory in nature focusing on remittances received from Kenyans residing in other countries and how they affect various macro-economic indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP), securities market data, interest rates and foreign exchange rates. The study primarily involved the examination of published data that was available from Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), government ministries such as Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Ministry of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism (MEACT), as well as organisations such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. In particular, means and standard deviations were calculated for all the variables in the study. Further statistical analysis was carried out by use of correlation and regression analysis where remittance flows were regressed against GDP, exchange rates for selected currencies, investments in the securities market and bank interest rates. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and results presented in graphs and tables. The study findings indicated that that the amounts of diaspora remittances had increased consistently over the period of study. Further the findings indicated that the real exchange rate has consistently inclined over the period under study. Correlation results revealed that there was positive and significant relationship between remittance flows and GDP, bank interest rates, US Dollar exchange rate and Euro exchange rate. The study findings concluded that diaspora remittances had a positive and significant relationship with GDP, bank interest rates, the US Dollar exchange rate and Euro exchange rate. The study recommends that the country needs to consider adopting institutions that help in amplifying the growth effects of remittances into sustainable economic growth. The government in conjunction with financial institutions should come up with policies that make it cheap, easy and safe to receive remittances as well as establish efficient and effective formal channels for sending and receiving remittances. The study recommends that the various commercial banks should develop banking products that will encourage migrants to maintain bank accounts in the labour-exporting country. Such accounts should be denominated in applicable foreign currency of choice to the migrant and must be made operational in the migrant?s country of residence through the use of modern information and communication technology. The study also recommends that effective measures are needed to be taken by the central bank to control inflation by reducing money supply in the economy. The formulation of monetary policy by the central bank is an important factor for controlling inflation. It is recommended that the monetary authority should use policies aimed at strengthening the Kenya shilling as doing so would reduce the charges for sending remittances. Kenya should device a way of influencing remittance recipient households to save their income so that the proceeds can be distributed to critical sectors of the economy. For instance, policies advocating for the increased use of remittances in funding entrepreneurial activities in the economy can be formulated. This will also need an effective and efficient distribution system, that is, a vibrant financial system that can mobilise remittance funds and distribute them as investment capital to unfunded entrepreneurs.

Download or read book Determinants and Macroeconomic Impact of Remittances in Sub Saharan Africa written by Kyung-woo Lee and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2009-10-01 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The paper investigates the determinants and the macroeconomic role of remittances in sub-Saharan Africa, assembling the most comprehensive dataset available so far on remittances in the region and incorporating data on the diaspora. It finds that remittances are larger for countries with a larger diaspora or when the diaspora is located in wealthier countries, and that they behave countercyclically, consistent with a role as a shock absorber. Although the effect of remittances in growth regressions is negative, countries with well functioning domestic institutions seem nevertheless to be better at unlocking the potential for remittances to contribute to faster economic growth.

Download or read book The Effect of International Remittances on Economic Growth in Sub Saharan Africa written by Gashaw Atilaw and published by . This book was released on 2022-08-12 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Master's Thesis from the year 2021 in the subject Economics - Economic Cycle and Growth, grade: 3.75 (good), Ethiopian Civil Service University, language: English, abstract: This paper is about the effect of international remittances of economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. For many developing economies, remittances constitute the single largest source of foreign exchange, exceeding export revenues, foreign direct investment (FDI), and other private capital inflows. This study aims to examine the effect of international remittances on economic growth in SSA countries using a panel data approach. The System Generalized Method of Moments was used as the main model of analysis. The sample consists of 29 SSA countries for the period 2004-2019. The study findings show that international remittance has a positive and significant effect on economic growth in SSA. The study recommends that SSA countries should be designing policies and strategies that facilitate less costly and hassle-free flow of remittances into national development. There is a need to have well-established institutional frameworks to train, support, and ensure the welfare of emigrants abroad by the provision of information or services to assist migrant welfare and promote remittances and investment in the home country.

Download or read book The Effects on Kenyan Economy Upon South Sudan Joining the East African Community MBA Thesis written by and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Macroeconomic Consequences of Remittances written by Connel Fullenkamp and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2008-03-11 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Given the large size of aggregate remittance flows (billions of dollars annually), they should be expected to have significant macroeconomic effects on the economies that receive them. This paper directly addresses the two main issues of interest to policymakers with regard to remittances--how to manage their macroeconomic effects, and how to harness their development potential--by reporting the results of the first global study of the comprehensive macroeconomic effects of remittances on recipient economies. In broad terms, the findings of this paper tend to confirm the main benefit cited in the microeconomic literature: remittances improve households' welfare by lifting families out of poverty and insuring them against income shocks. The findings also yield a number of important caveats and policy considerations, however, that have largely been overlooked. The main challenge for policymakers in countries that receive significant flows of remittances is to design policies that promote remittances and increase their benefits while mitigating adverse side effects. Getting these policy prescriptions correct early on is imperative. Globalization and the aging of developed economy populations will ensure that demand for migrant workers remains robust for years to come. Hence, the volume of remittances likely will continue to grow, and with it, the challenge of unlocking the maximum societal benefit from these transfers.

Download or read book Are Immigrant Remittance Flows a Source of Capital for Development written by Mr.Ralph Chami and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2003-09-01 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The role of remittances in development and economic growth is not well understood. This is partly because the literatures on the causes and effects of remittances remain separate. We develop a framework that links the motivation for remittances with their effect on economic activity. Because remittances take place under asymmetric information and economic uncertainty, there exists a significant moral hazard problem. The implication is that remittances have a negative effect on economic growth. We test this prediction using panel methods on a large sample of countries. The results indicate that remittances do have a negative effect on economic growth, which indicates that the moral hazard problem in remittances is severe.

Download or read book The Impact of Remittances on Economic Activity The Importance of Sectoral Linkages written by Hector Perez-Saiz and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2019-08-16 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We propose a simple macroeconomic model with input-output sectoral linkages based on Acemoglu et al. (2016) to quantify how changes in aggregate demand due to additional income from household’s remittances propagates through the network of input-output linkages in Sub-Saharan African countries. We first propose two network centrality measures to assess the role of some sectors as key input providers in the economy. Then, we use these measures to quantify the effect of sectoral linkages on sectoral and total output following an increase in remittances inflows. Our empirical results suggest that the effects of remittances on recipient economies increase with the degree of linkages across sectors, which is especially prominent in the case of the financial intermediation sector. Our paper contributes to the emerging macroeconomic literature on the propagation of shocks across sectors and the implications for the whole economy.

Download or read book Remittances and International Development written by Sabith Khan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-07-30 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a first of its kind book which examines the remittances in the two largest corridors in the World: India-Saudi Arabia and Mexico-U.S.A. This book aims to treat remittances as an act of social norm involving individuals, nation-states, and diaspora communities. It treats remittances both as an act of individual obligation as well as a social fact that needs to be understood from the perspective of the actors, i.e., the givers and recipients. Using theories of motives of giving, policy analysis, international development, and international relations, the authors offer a compelling narrative of how and why remittances occur and the impacts on both the giver and recipient. The authors - both scholars of philanthropy and remittances - bring their shared perspective and understanding of this crucial phenomenon and delve deep into examining its impacts on community development and the relations between the nation-states. This book offers a sophisticated understanding of how vital remittances are to the world we live in. The book sheds light on this important social reality and will be of value to researchers, academics, and students interested in remittances, as well as to practitioners working in the international development sector, NGO actors, and policy makers.

Download or read book Migration and Remittances During the Global Financial Crisis and Beyond written by Ibrahim Sirkeci and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-05-30 with total page 471 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the 2008 financial crisis, the possible changes in remittance-sending behavior and potential avenues to alleviate a probable decline in remittance flows became concerns. This book brings together a wide array of studies from around the world focusing on the recent trends in remittance flows. The authors have gathered a select group of researchers from academic, practitioner and policy making bodies. Thus the book can be seen as a conversation between the different stakeholders involved in or affected by remittance flows globally. The book is a first-of-its-kind attempt to analyze the effects of an ongoing crisis on remittance flows globally. Data analyzed by the book reveals three trends. First, The more diversified the destinations and the labour markets for migrants the more resilient are the remittances sent by migrants. Second, the lower the barriers to labor mobility, the stronger the link between remittances and economic cycles in that corridor. And third, as remittances proved to be relatively resilient in comparison to private capital flows, many remittance-dependent countries became even more dependent on remittance inflows for meeting external financing needs. There are several reasons for migration and remittances to be relatively resilient to the crisis. First, remittances are sent by the stock (cumulative flows) of migrants, not only by the recent arrivals (in fact, recent arrivals often do not remit as regularly as they must establish themselves in their new homes). Second, contrary to expectations, return migration did not take place as expected even as the financial crisis reduced employment opportunities in the US and Europe. Third, in addition to the persistence of migrant stocks that lent persistence to remittance flows, existing migrants often absorbed income shocks and continued to send money home. Fourth, if some migrants did return or had the intention to return, they tended to take their savings back to their country of origin. Finally, exchange rate movements during the crisis caused unexpected changes in remittance behavior: as local currencies of many remittance recipient countries depreciated sharply against the US dollar, they produced a “sale” effect on remittance behavior of migrants in the US and other destination countries.

Download or read book Do Workers Remittances Bring Economic Growth to Receiving Countries written by Anna Miller and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2013-05-13 with total page 14 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject Economics - Job market economics, grade: 64%, University of Nottingham (Economics), course: MSc in Applied Economics and Financial Economics, language: English, abstract: Besides foreign direct investment (FDI) and capital market flows, workers’ remittances are another external channel for capital flows. According to the OECD, remittances to developing countries amounted to US$ 149.4 billion in the year 2002. However, whereas FDI and capital market flows are subject to variation due to recessions in home countries, remittances are steadily rising every year (OECD, 2006), reaching an amount of about UD$ 300 billion in the year 2007 (Barajas et al., 2009). To give a brief definition, remittances are money transfers from migrants working abroad to their families in their home countries. Yet, the question is, do these remittances contribute to or boost economic growth in receiving countries or are they only a means to increase the migrants’ families’ welfare by directly reducing their poverty and raising the living standard (Rao and Hassan, 2011). In other words, are remittances mostly used for consumption or do they rather flow in education, and thereby contribute to the human capital, and in investments, thus increasing the capital stock in the economy (Giuliano and Ruiz-Arranz, 2009)? From the growth theory we know that consumption does not have any impact on growth, only investments, either in production or in human capital, can affect long-run growth. Evidence from Indonesia, Ecuador, and Argentina (Sayan, 2006) shows that remittances indirectly reduce volatility of growth of output in times of crises and increase the growth rate thereby (Rao and Hassan, 2011). In contrast, Sayan (2006) found that remittances are moving procyclically with out in recipient countries, boosting incomes during booms, but reducing them even more during recessions and thus magnifying the economic crisis. This paper examines the relationship between remittances and GDP growth using in a macro panel with 67 countries and a time period of 28 years, from 1975 through 2002, as well as a cross-section analysis for comparison. The goal of this analysis is to determine whether, and to what extent, remittances have an impact on long-term economic growth and, if so, whether this relation is significant or not.

Download or read book Family Remittances and their impacts on families culture and economy written by Carol Benjamin and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2013-12-02 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Essay from the year 2005 in the subject Sociology - Politics, Majorities, Minorities, grade: 94%, , language: English, abstract: This article explains the importance of remittances in various countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The impact on numerous families, culture and the economy is discussed. Various authors show the significance of remittances which account for a sizable part of these countries' economic growth. The article also explains the importance of remittances in Latin America and the Caribbean in relationship to foreign investments, tourism or other income sources.

Download or read book Financing the Family written by Inter-American Development Bank and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-07-18 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Interest in learning how to make the most of the potential developmental benefits of remittance flows has grown worldwide. Financing the Family adds to that body of knowledge with a summary of recent research that emphasizes experimental approaches, focuses on Central America, and analyzes the impact of the recent financial crisis.

Download or read book Defying the Odds Remittances During the COVID 19 Pandemic written by Mr. Kangni R Kpodar and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-07-16 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper provides an early assessment of the dynamics and drivers of remittances during the COVID-19 pandemic, using a newly compiled monthly remittance dataset for a sample of 52 countries, of which 16 countries with bilateral remittance data. The paper documents a strong resilience in remittance flows, notwithstanding an unprecedent global recession triggered by the pandemic. Using the local projection approach to estimate the impulse response functions of remittance flows during Jan 2020-Dec 2020, the paper provides evidence that: (i) remittances responded positively to COVID-19 infection rates in migrant home countries, underscoring its role as an important automatic stabilizer; (ii) stricter containment measures have the unintended consequence of dampening remittances; and (iii) a shift from informal to formal remittance channels due to travel restrictions appears to have also played a role in the surge in formal remittances. Lastly, the size of the fiscal stimulus in host countries is positively associated with remittances as the fiscal response cushions the economic impact of the pandemic.

Download or read book The Impact of Remittances on Poverty and Human Capital written by Pablo Acosta and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2007 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper explores the impact of remittances on poverty, education, and health in 11 Latin American countries using nationally representative household surveys and making an explicit attempt to account for one of the inherent costs associated with migration -- the potential income that the migrant may have made at home. The main findings of the study are the following: (1) regardless of the counterfactual used remittances appear to lower poverty levels in most recipient countries; (2) yet despite this general tendency, the estimated impacts tend to be modes; and (3) there is significant country heterogeneity in the poverty reduction impact of remittances' flows. Among the aspects that have been identified in the paper that may lead to varying outcomes across countries are the percentage of households reporting remittances income, the share of remittances of recipient households belonging to the lowest quintiles of the income distribution, and the relative importance of remittances flows with respect to GDP. While remittances tend to have positive effects on education and health, this impact is often restricted to specific groups of the population.

Download or read book Africa s Finances written by Raj Bardouille and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Globally, the volume of remittances to developing countries exceeds the development aid budgets. This volume explores the contribution of remittances to Africaâ (TM)s finances and provides concrete guidelines as to how these may be expanded. It contains essays by the field leaders in this area which record, review and revise our knowledge base on Africaâ (TM)s remittance patterns. The advent of new information communication technologies can contribute to an expanded capture of remittances from the African diaspora and in Africa new forms of money transfer are already taking shape which reflect this affordance. The volume also examines other resources, such as skills, that the African diaspora remits in its patterns of contact with Africa. The volume, shaped out of a conference on remittances and the African diaspora held at the Institute for African Development at Cornell University, is a timely reminder of the substantial role to be played in Africaâ (TM)s development by Africans themselves.

Download or read book Remittances and Vulnerability in Developing Countries written by Giulia Bettin and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2014-01-27 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines how international remittances are affected by structural characteristics, macroeconomic conditions, and adverse shocks in both source and recipient economies. We exploit a novel, rich panel data set, covering bilateral remittances from 103 Italian provinces to 107 developing countries over the period 2005-2011. We find that remittances are negatively correlated with the business cycle in recipient countries, and increase in response to adverse exogenous shocks, such as natural disasters or large declines in the terms of trade. Remittances are positively correlated with economic conditions in the source province. Nevertheless, in the presence of similar negative shocks to both source and recipient economies, remittances remain counter-cyclical with respect to the recipient country.

Download or read book A Gravity Model of Workers Remittances written by Erik Lueth and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2006-12 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper creates the first dataset of bilateral remittance flows for a limited set of developing countries and estimates a gravity model for workers' remittances. We find that most of the variation in bilateral remittance flows can be explained by a few gravity variables. The evidence on the motives to remit is mixed, but altruism may be less of a factor than commonly believed. Most strikingly, remittances do not seem to increase in the wake of a natural disaster and appear aligned with the business cycle in the home country, suggesting that remittances may not play a major role in limiting vulnerability to shocks. To encourage remittances and maximize their economic impact, policies should be directed at reducing transaction costs, promoting financial sector development, and improving the business climate.