International Migrant Worker's Remittances: Issues and Prospects

摘要

This paper presents the results of the first stage of analysis of the data on international migrant workers' remittances. The study puts together available data on workers' remittances to developing countries and analyzes the regional structure of and growth in these flows. It is shown that these flows are substantial. The paper relates the flow of remittances to the level of and fluctuations in economic activity and to inflation in the host countries; the results of the empirical analysis show that these latter variables explain a large part of the variation in remittance flows. Based on these results and on a qualitative assessment of past migration patterns and of the recent experiences and policies of labor importers in Europe, the study attempts to forecast future demand for migrant labor and the likely growth in remittances.