E.g., 01/27/2021
E.g., 01/27/2021

Remittances

Remittances

Remittances are among the most tangible links between migration and development. According to World Bank projections, global remittances will reach $515 billion in 2015. Developing countries receive the lion’s share of global remittances, and in 25 countries, remittances were equal to more than 10 percent of gross domestic product as of 2011. Remittances, as the research here discusses, can play an effective role in reducing poverty, and they provide a convenient angle for approaching the complex migration agenda.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs
September 2014
Integrating Migration into the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda
By  Lars Johan Lönnback
Fact Sheets
July 2014
Select Diaspora Populations in the United States
Commentaries
October 2013
The Lampedusa Tragedy Prompts the Question: Does the UN Have Any Impact on the World’s Migrants?
By  Kathleen Newland
Articles
October 9, 2013
The High-Level Dialogue: Sizing up Outcomes, Implications, and Future Forms of Engagement on Migration and Development
By Kathleen Newland
Policy Briefs
October 2013
What We Know About Migration and Development
By  Kathleen Newland
Policy Briefs
September 2013
What We Know About Diasporas and Economic Development
By  Kathleen Newland and Sonia Plaza
Policy Briefs
September 2013
The Impact of Remittances on Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction
By  Dilip Ratha
Articles
June 28, 2013
Diasporas and Development in Post-Communist Eurasia
By Tim Heleniak

Pages

Feature
June 13, 2013
The Growing Linkages Between Migration and Microfinance

The expansion of access to credit through microfinance—now a multibillion-dollar sector—has resulted in profound shifts across the developing world. This article, using Cambodia as its example, discusses the ways in which households are using microcredit in coordination with migration, and addresses critical questions about who benefits from these linkages—and what vulnerabilities they might create for migrants.

Feature
March 5, 2013
Beyond Remittances: Reframing Diaspora-Driven Development in El Salvador

El Salvador's lengthy civil war crushed diasporas' opportunities for political or civic engagement in this small, densely-populated Central American nation. However, hometown associations—diaspora organizations that contribute to the development needs of their members' hometowns—represent a modern-day venue for civil society participation. This article explores how diasporas are contributing to development in more ways than just cash flows and projects by transforming the governance landscape.

Feature
October 2, 2012
Disentangling Immigration and International Development in the United States

Immigration and international development policy conversations have become entangled in the U.S. context, not necessarily to the benefit of either debate. This article explores how a contemporary understanding and decoupling of the issues can contribute to more effective policymaking.

Top Ten
December 1, 2011
Substantial Investments to Court Diaspora Entrepreneurs for Development Gains

With the goal of building and sustaining economic growth in mind, some countries have intensified their efforts to court investments from their nationals and co-ethnics abroad, recognizing that diaspora entrepreneurs are uniquely positioned to spot opportunities in their countries of origin and capitalize on them.

Feature
November 8, 2011
Mobilizing Diaspora Entrepreneurship for Development

Diaspora entrepreneurs have several advantages over other entrepreneurs or investors because they have social, political, and economic connections in two or more countries. Kathleen Newland and Hiroyuki Tanaka discuss the conditions and commitments on the part of countries of origin that can help attract and support diaspora entrepreneurs.

Pages

archive >

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs
September 2014

Integrating Migration into the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda

The Member States of the United Nations must negotiate a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs) that will frame a new international development agenda to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that expire in 2015. This issue brief examines how migration can be integrated into the post-2015 development agenda, outlining proposed migration targets and elements for indicators within the SDGs.
Fact Sheets
July 2014

Select Diaspora Populations in the United States

MPI has produced profiles of 15 diaspora communities in the United States, gathering in one place key demographic data and analysis on diasporas from Bangladesh, Colombia, El Salvador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, India, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The profiles examine population size, educational attainment, household income, employment patterns, geographic distribution, and remittance volume.

Commentaries
October 2013

The Lampedusa Tragedy Prompts the Question: Does the UN Have Any Impact on the World’s Migrants?

As hundreds of migrants were drowning in the Mediterranean, the United Nations General Assembly was hours from gathering for only the second time in its history to address international migration. The juxtaposition threw a question into sharp relief: does the world body have any impact on the world’s migrants?
Articles
October 9, 2013

The High-Level Dialogue: Sizing up Outcomes, Implications, and Future Forms of Engagement on Migration and Development

The recent special session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, labeled the High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (HLD), was the UN's second-ever discussion devoted solely to international migration. This article examines the implications and outcomes of the HLD, identifies some of the issues that garnered widespread support, and assesses whether the international community is inching toward greater multilateral engagement on migration.

Policy Briefs
October 2013

What We Know About Migration and Development

This policy brief, which concludes a nine-brief series examining what is known about the linkages between migration and development, suggests that the policy framework on migration and development remains relatively weak, and few development agencies have made it a priority to promote the positive impact of international migration.
Policy Briefs
September 2013

The Impact of Remittances on Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction

Remittances represent a major vehicle for reducing the scale and severity of poverty in the developing world. Besides pure monetary gains, remittances are associated with greater human development outcomes across a number of areas, including health, education, and gender equality. The author argues that policymakers can maximize the positive impact of remittances by making them less costly and more productive for both the individual and the country of origin.
Policy Briefs
September 2013

What We Know About Diasporas and Economic Development

Diasporas can play an important role in the economic development of their countries of origin or ancestry. Beyond their well-known role as senders of remittances, diasporas also can promote trade and foreign direct investment, create businesses, spur entrepreneurship, and transfer new knowledge and skills. Policymakers increasingly recognize that an engaged diaspora can be an asset — or even a counterweight to the emigration of skilled and talented migrants.

Articles
June 28, 2013

Diasporas and Development in Post-Communist Eurasia

The region encompassing Central and Eastern Europe as well as the former Soviet Union is the source of a sizeable share of international migrants today, yet many of these countries' development efforts do not benefit from strong diaspora ties.

Pages