Defying the Odds: Remittances During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Defying the Odds: Remittances During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author: Mr. Kangni R Kpodar

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2021-07-16

Total Pages: 35

ISBN-13: 1513578456

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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.

Evolution of Remittances to CAPDR Countries and Mexico During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Evolution of Remittances to CAPDR Countries and Mexico During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author: Aleksandra Babii

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2022-05-13

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13:

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Traditional models relying on standard variables like the U.S. Hispanic unemployment rate fared well in explaining remittances to CAPDR and Mexico during the pre-pandemic period. However, they fail to predict the sustained growth in remittances since June 2020, including the significant increase in the average amount remitted. Using data from over 300 remittances corridors (from 23 U.S. states to 14 Salvadoran departments), we find that this increase is primarily explained by the dynamics of U.S. states real wages, as well as more temporary factors like U.S. unemployment relief (including the extraordinary pandemic support), U.S. states mobility, and COVID-19 infections at home. The paper also analyses what role the change in the modes of transmission of remittances, additional U.S. fiscal stimulus and U.S. labor market developments, especially in the sectors were CAPDR and Mexican migrants preponderantly work, play in explaining aggregate remittances growth.

The Social Epidemiology of the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Social Epidemiology of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author: Dustin T. Duncan

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2024

Total Pages: 497

ISBN-13: 0197625215

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"The novel coronavirus of 2019 (COVID-19) has caused one of the largest pandemics in human history. COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic in March 2020. The worldwide COVID health crisis has affected virtually every aspect of daily life, namely the conditions in which we are born, grow, learn, work, and age. For the last three years, for instance, we have engaged in social distancing, remote meetups and seemingly endless Zoom calls. We have also changed how we view healthcare, with many increasing their use of telemedicine. Many have also abandoned city living for a more comfortable life in suburban, peri-rural and rural environments, with greater access to trees and parkland. Travel has been significantly impacted-disrupting existing social networks but also potentially deepening more localized social networks. For some, these changes were only in initial lockdown period(s); for others, these changes may be ongoing. The idea for our book emerged from overwhelming evidence that the pandemic intersects with nearly every social determinant of population health and aggravating existing inequalities in social conditions and health outcomes"--

World Migration Report 2024
World Migration Report 2024

Author: International Organization for Migration

Publisher: Stylus Publishing, LLC

Published: 2024-05-07

Total Pages: 492

ISBN-13: 921106452X

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Since 2000, IOM has been producing its flagship world migration reports every two years. The World Migration Report 2024, the twelfth in the world migration report series, has been produced to contribute to increased understanding of migration and mobility throughout the world. The last two years saw major migration and displacement events that have caused great hardship and trauma, as well as loss of life. In addition to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, millions of people have been displaced due to other conflicts, such as within and/or from the Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar. There have also been large scale displacements triggered by climate- and weather-related disasters in many parts of the world in 2022 and 2023, including in Pakistan, the Philippines, China, India, Bangladesh, Brazil and Colombia. Further, in February 2023, south-east Türkiye and northern Syrian Arab Republic experienced powerful earthquakes, resulting in more than 50,000 deaths. By March, an estimated 2.7 million people had been displaced in Türkiye and many had been left homeless in the Syrian Arab Republic. This new edition presents key data and information on migration as well as thematic chapters on highly topical migration issues and is structured to focus on two key contributions for readers. Part I includes key information on migration and migrants (including migration-related statistics); and part II includes balanced, evidence-based analysis of complex and emerging migration issues.

Research Handbook on the Sociology of Migration
Research Handbook on the Sociology of Migration

Author: Giuseppe Sciortino

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2024-01-18

Total Pages: 453

ISBN-13: 1839105461

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Adeptly navigating one of the most pressing issues on the current global agenda, this topical Research Handbook provides a comprehensive and research-based exploration of the sociology of migration. As well as highlighting the field’s achievements and current challenges, it explores key concepts used in current research, methods employed, and the spheres and contexts in which migrants participate.

How Do Transaction Costs Influence Remittances
How Do Transaction Costs Influence Remittances

Author: Mr. Kangni R Kpodar

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2022-11-04

Total Pages: 43

ISBN-13:

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Using a new quarterly panel database on remittances (71 countries over the period 2011Q1- 2020Q4), this paper investigates the elasticity of remittances to transaction costs in a high frequency and dynamic setting. It adds to the literature by systematically exploring the heterogeneity in the cost-elasticity of remittances along several country characteristics. The findings suggest that cost reductions have a short-term positive impact on remittances, that dissipates beyond one quarter. According to our estimates, reducing transaction costs to the Sustainable Development Goal target of 3 percent could generate an additional US$32bn in remittances, higher that the direct cost savings from lower transaction costs, thus suggesting an absolute elasticity greater than one. Among remittance cost-mitigation factors, higher competition in the remittance market, a deeper financial sector, and adequate correspondent banking relationships are associated with a lower elasticity of remittance to transaction costs. Similarly, remittance cost-adaptation factors such as enhanced transparency in remittance costs, improved financial literary and higher ICT development coincide with remittances being less sensitive to transaction costs. Supplementing the panel analysis, the use of micro data from the USA-Mexico corridor confirm that migrants facing higher transaction costs tend to remit less, and that this effect is less pronounced for skilled migrants and those that have access to a bank account.

Migration and Integration in a Post-Pandemic World
Migration and Integration in a Post-Pandemic World

Author: Lin Lerpold

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-06-05

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 3031191536

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As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, this book explores current migration and integration challenges. Against the background of long-term migration trends, it asks whether the pandemic has changed the patterns observed, transformed the circumstances international migrants face at destination or whether the opportunities and challenges for integration have been altered. Twenty-four researchers have contributed to this volume with research attention on how COVID-19 has affected transnationalism and identity, labour market employment, and impacted the discrimination of migrants in a variety of ways. Loyalties and tensions created by the need to include also hesitant migrant groups in vaccination programmes are explored. The role of cosmopolitanism and welfare chauvinism in narratives on inward migrations flows, the stance of trade unions on migration, the complexities of implementing return policies, and the challenges faced by unaccompanied refugee youth from Afghanistan are also discussed.

COVID-19 Return Migration Phenomena
COVID-19 Return Migration Phenomena

Author: S. Irudaya Rajan

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-11-25

Total Pages: 205

ISBN-13: 1040261663

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This book examines the large-scale return migration of South and Southeast Asian workers triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring its causes, consequences, challenges, and policy responses. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a global phenomenon emerged - the mass repatriation of migrant workers. This book offers a meticulous examination of this unprecedented migration reversal in South and Southeast Asia. Through the contributions of researchers spanning multiple geographies in prominent corridors of return, the book dissects the motivations behind this large-scale exodus, encompassing lost livelihoods and societal anxieties. Further, the book delves into the multifaceted challenges return migrants face, including the reintegration into their home economies and the arduous struggle for re-employment. The analysis also extends beyond individual experiences by meticulously exploring the broader socioeconomic repercussions on sending countries, along with a critical evaluation of government policies designed to facilitate the reintegration of this displaced population. Drawing upon diverse academic perspectives, this comprehensive volume serves as a vital resource for scholars and policymakers alike. It illuminates the pandemic's profound social and economic consequences, fostering a deeper understanding of migration patterns and the future of work in the post-COVID era. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.

Money Flows
Money Flows

Author: Catherine De Vries

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2024-05-07

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 019265117X

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Remittances, the repatriated earnings of emigrant workers, have risen spectacularly in recent decades. They are a crucial lifeline for the households that receive them and one of the largest sources of capital for developing economies, outstripping both aid and foreign direct investment. Money Flows studies how remittances shape the relationship between remittance recipients and the authorities in migrant-sending countries by providing a comprehensive study of the political effects of remittances on the attitudes of their recipients. It argues that far from being an exclusively economic risk-sharing mechanism between poorer, migrant-sending, and richer, migrant-receiving economies, remittances may compromise rudimentary accountability mechanisms in the developing world. The book leverages survey data from Central-Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia and original focus groups from Kyrgyzstan. It shows how remittances, and fluctuations in their volume, colour recipients' economic evaluations; shape the burden of corruption; and change how recipients interact with, and view their state, ultimately impacting the approval function of the authorities.