The Remitting Patterns of African Migrants in the OECD
Recorded remittances to Africa have grown dramatically over the past decade. Yet data limitations still mean relatively little is known about which migrants remit, how much they remit, and how their remitting behavior varies with gender, education,...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20100405093038 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3747 |
| Summary: | Recorded remittances to Africa have
grown dramatically over the past decade. Yet data
limitations still mean relatively little is known about
which migrants remit, how much they remit, and how their
remitting behavior varies with gender, education, income
levels, and duration abroad. This paper constructs the most
comprehensive remittance database on immigrants in the OECD
currently available, containing microdata on more than
12,000 African immigrants. Using this microdata the authors
establish several basic facts about the remitting patterns
of Africans, and then explore how key characteristics of
policy interest relate to remittance behavior. Africans are
found to remit twice as much on average as migrants from
other developing countries, and those from poorer African
countries are more likely to remit than those from richer
African countries. Male migrants remit more than female
migrants, particularly among those with a spouse remaining
in the home country; more-educated migrants remit more than
less educated migrants; and although the amount remitted
increases with income earned, the gradient is quite flat
over a large range of income. Finally, there is little
evidence that the amount remitted decays with time spent
abroad, with reductions in the likelihood of remitting
offset by increases in the amount remitted conditional on remitting. |
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