remittances and the caribbean experience regional seminar on migrants’ money remittances: an...
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Remittances and the Caribbean Experience
Regional Seminar on Migrants’ Money Remittances: An Alternative for Latin America and the Caribbean?
SELA and CAFCaracas, July 26-27, 2004
Elizabeth Thomas-Hope
University of the West Indies
Mona, Jamaica
Country Total Remittances( millions of dollars)
Mexico 9,920
India* 9,160
Philippines 6,366
Egypt 2,911
Turkey 2,786
Bangladesh 2,104
Jordan 2,011
Dominican Republic 1,982
El Salvador 1,925
Colombia 1,784
Top Ten Remittance RecipientsAmong Developing Countries, 2001
*The data for India is from 2000
Source: International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments Yearbook 2002, Migration Information Source.
Country Total Remittances, as a percentage of GDP
Haiti* 24.2
Jordan 22.8
Nicaragua 16.2
El Salvador 14
Jamaica 13.6
Dominican Republic 9.3
Philippines 8.9
Honduras 8.5
Ecuador 7.9
Guatemala 3.1
Remittance Dependence of Selected Countries, 2001
*Remittance levels for Haiti are as estimated by the Inter-American Development Bank.
Source: International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments Yearbook 2002; Migration Information Source; World Bank, World Development Indicators 2002.
Year Jamaica Mexico Dom. Republic
1981 89 183 259
1982 106 155 271
1983 59 169 278
1984 38 259 300
1985 130 245 342
1986 75 250 312
1987 79 277 366
1988 87 269 372
1989 144 2180 368
1990 159 2903 367
Official Worker Remittances Received in Selected Labor-exporting Countries 1981 - 2002
Year Jamaica Mexico Dom. Republic
1991 152 2701 368
1992 171 3334 375
1993 197 3514 381
1994 470 3572 778
1995 582 3673 795
1996 618 4103 888
1997 609 4618 1033
1998 618 5260 1239
1999 627 5405 1389
2000 698 5816 1494
2002 1227 9814 1939
Sources: International Monetary Fund, Balance of payments Yearbook (various issues
Cont’d
Assumptions ?
That one can predict volume of remittance flows will be positively associated with:
• volume of out-migration ?
• volume of return ?
Immigrants Admitted to the United States By Country of Birth 1987 - 2002
Source: US Immigration and Naturalization Services Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1997
0 200000 400000 600000 800000 1000000 1200000 1400000
Antigua
Bahamas
Barbados
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Grenada
Haiti
Jamaica
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent & The Grenadines
Trinidad andTobago
Other Caribbean
Total
Caribbean Immigrants admitted in the USA(selected years)
1990 2000 2002
Caribbean 115,351 88,198 96,489
Dom.Rep. 42,195 17,536 22,604
Haiti 20,324 22,364 20,268
Jamaica 25,013 16,000 14,898
Trin. & Tobago 6,740 6,660 5,771
• What are the trends in out-migration and return migration?
Take the case of Jamaica, for example, remittance flows have been increasing even though volume of emigration and return have been decreasing.
Return Migrants to Jamaica (1992-2002)
• 1992 1552• 1993 2359• 1994 2585• 1995 2353• 1996 2349• 1997 2094• 1998 1875*• 1999 1765*• 2000 1282*• 2001 1117• 2002 1105• 2003 1180
Percentages of Return Migrants to Jamaica by country of last residence
(totals for 1993-2002)
UK 43%
USA 39%
Canada 11.9%
Others 5.8%
Important questions in understanding the association between volume of remittance flows and migration patterns
• What type of migrant remits most ?
• at what stage(s) of the migration cycle ?
What types of migrants/stage in migration cycle remit most/least ?
• Retired persons ?
• Persons in the labour force on return –Long-stay; short-stay; transnational
• Unskilled/low level skilled, high level professional; student…..
US FARM HOTEL TOTAL
WORKERS WORKERS
2002 2002 2002
MONTH M M F T
January-March 214,841 238,864 142,444 381,308 596,149
April-June 352,625 796,766 782,736 1,579,440 1,932,127
July-Sept 1,223,666 1,452,873 1,839,567 3,292,440 4,516,106
Oct-Dec 2,015,382 909,159 1,328,981 2,238,140 4,253,522
TOTAL 3,806,514 3,397,662 4,093,728 7,491,390 11,297,904
REMITTANCES (US $) TO JAMAICA FROM THE U.S.A.Of Occupational Category and Sex of Worker (2002)
Source: Jamaican Ministry of Labour and Social SecurityStatistical Bulletin 2002
Amount received equivalent JA $
Percentages ofhouseholds receiving
remittances monthly
Below 5000 67
5000-10000 23
10000-15000 4
15000-20000 2
20000-25000 2
25000-30000 1
30000-35000 0
35000-40000 0
Over 40000 1
Distribution of Remittances Received MonthlyRio Grande Valley sample, Jamaica (2002)
Ishemo, 2004
RemittanceCategory
% receiving Monthly
% receivingOccasionally
Cash 74 26
Foodstuff 10 90
Clothing 0 100
Total persons=431
Source: Ishemo, 2004
Household Remittance ReceiptsRio Grande Valley sample (2003)
Percentageof
Expenditure Household Farm Related
< 25% 6% 19%
25-50% 4% 9%
> 50% 46% 16%
Total sample = 431Source: Ishemo, 2004
Household Expenditure of Cash RemittancesRio Grande Valley sample, Jamaica (2002)
The Jamaica GleanerThe Jamaica Gleaner
Return Professionals to Jamaica Financial Transfers and Financial Security
• Returning professionals in this study did notremit or transfer substantial sums of moneyfrom their previous country of residence toJamaica either prior to their return orsubsequently.
• Only 20% of the persons inthe study indicated that they transferred what they regarded to be relatively largesums at the time of returning.
Return Professionals to JamaicaSocial Security / Pension Payments
Almost 50% the number of persons in the
sample population would be entitled to
social security payments from the country
of their former residence abroad and or
state pension when they reached
retirement age, even if they remained in
Jamaica until they retired
Return Professionals to Jamaica Investment
82.9% of the Sample currently tended to
invest in Jamaica more than they did
abroad
What is the nature of transnational households ?
Eg.• All the returnees of a sample of high level professionals
to Jamaica held a Jamaican passport, in the main because of their sense of, and commitment to, ‘being Jamaican’
• 58% had dual citizenship and held a passport of another country as well as a Jamaican passport (others held a Green Card for the USA)
What are the other incentives/ disincentives to the sending high
levels of remittances ?
– The environment in the host and especially in the ‘home’ country - eg:
– Liberal financial sector– Attractiveness for investment– Attractiveness for return (security/health &
educational services)
Implications
• Policies for optimizing remittance flows and development impact must be based on the development of high confidence levels and a liberal migration environment:
• the identification of effective incentives geared to the different migrant/return migrant target groups. These would include – financial incentives, investment opportunities eg in health, education & welfare, - security.