What is the Impact of International Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Latin America?

Workers' remittances have become a major source of income for developing countries. However, little is still known about their impact on poverty and inequality. Using a large cross-country panel dataset, the authors find that remittances in La...

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Main Authors: Acosta, Pablo, Calderón, Cesar, Fajnzylber, Pablo, Lopez, Humberto
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:
GDP
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/06/7698933/impact-international-remittances-poverty-inequality-latin-america
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7400
id okr-10986-7400
recordtype oai_dc
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic ABSENCE OF REMITTANCES
ABSOLUTE TERMS
ANNUAL GROWTH
ANNUAL GROWTH RATE
AVERAGE INCOME
AVERAGE INCOME GROWTH
AVERAGE INCOME LEVEL
BALANCE OF PAYMENT
BALANCE OF PAYMENT STATISTICS
CAPITA INCOME
CAPITA REMITTANCES
CAPITAL FLOWS
COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYEES
CONDITIONAL CONVERGENCE
COUNTRY
COUNTRY CHARACTERISTICS
COUNTRY REGRESSIONS
COUNTRY REMITTANCES
COUNTRY SPECIFIC
COUNTRY-SPECIFIC EFFECTS
CROSS-COUNTRY ANALYSIS
CROSS-COUNTRY DATA
CROSS-COUNTRY PANEL
CROSS-COUNTRY STUDIES
CUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTION
DATA AVAILABILITY
DATA ON REMITTANCES
DENSITY FUNCTION
DEPENDENT VARIABLE
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING COUNTRY
DEVELOPING WORLD
DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONERS
DIFFERENCE ERROR
DISTRIBUTIONAL IMPACT
DYNAMIC PANEL
DYNAMIC PANEL FRAMEWORK
ECONOMETRIC ISSUES
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
ECONOMICS
ECONOMICS LITERATURE
EFFECT OF REMITTANCES
EFFECTS OF REMITTANCES
ELASTICITY
ELASTICITY OF POVERTY
EMPIRICAL ESTIMATES
EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
EMPIRICAL RESULTS
EMPIRICAL SECTION
EMPIRICAL WORK
ENDOGENOUS VARIABLES
EQUALIZING EFFECT
ERROR TERM
ERROR TERMS
ESTIMATED COEFFICIENTS
ESTIMATED REDUCTION
EXOGENOUS VARIABLE
EXPLANATORY VARIABLES
EXTENDED FAMILY
FAMILIES DUE
FAMILY MEMBERS
FERTILITY
FERTILITY RATE
FIXED EFFECTS
FLOWS OF REMITTANCES
FOREIGN REMITTANCES
FUNCTIONAL FORM
GDP
GINI COEFFICIENT
GINI INDEX
GLOBAL LEVEL
GROWTH
GROWTH CONTEXT
GROWTH DATA
GROWTH EQUATION
GROWTH LITERATURE
GROWTH MODELS
GROWTH OF REMITTANCES
GROWTH RATES
GROWTH REGRESSION
GROWTH REGRESSIONS
HEADCOUNT POVERTY
HEADCOUNT RATIO
HIGH CORRELATION
HOME COUNTRIES
HOUSEHOLD ASSETS
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
HOUSEHOLD LEVEL
HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY DATA
HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
IMPACT OF MIGRATION
IMPACT OF REMITTANCES
INCOME DISTRIBUTION
INCOME INEQUALITY
INCOME LEVELS
INCOME SOURCE
INCOME SOURCES
INCREASE GROWTH
INCREASE IN REMITTANCES
INCREASING INCOME INEQUALITY
INEQUALITY AVERSION
INEQUALITY CHANGES
INEQUALITY ELASTICITIES
INEQUALITY LEVELS
INEQUALITY REGRESSIONS
INEQUALITY RESULTS
INEQUALITY VARIABLES
INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCES
LAGGED LEVELS
LAGGED VALUES
LOG NORMAL
LOG-NORMAL APPROXIMATION
LOG-NORMAL DISTRIBUTION
MACROECONOMIC EFFECTS
MEAN INCOME
MICRO DATA
MIGRANT
MIGRANT DESTINATION COUNTRIES
MIGRANT FAMILIES
MIGRANT FAMILY
MIGRANT FAMILY MEMBERS
MIGRANT NETWORKS
MIGRANT TRANSFERS
MIGRANT-SENDING COUNTRIES
MIGRANTS
MIGRATION
MIGRATION FLOWS
MIGRATION PATTERNS
MINORITY
NATIONAL LEVEL
NEGATIVE COEFFICIENT
0 HYPOTHESIS
OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
PER CAPITA INCOME
PER CAPITA INCOME LEVEL
PER CAPITA INCOME LEVELS
POINT ESTIMATES
POLICY RESEARCH
POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER
POSITIVE EFFECT
POSITIVE IMPACT
POSITIVE VALUE
POVERTY
POVERTY GAP
POVERTY LEVELS
POVERTY LINE
POVERTY MEASURES
POVERTY REDUCING
POVERTY REDUCTION
PRACTITIONERS
PROGRESS
RATES OF GROWTH
RECIPIENT HOUSEHOLDS
REDUCED INEQUALITY
REDUCING INEQUALITY
REMITTANCE
REMITTANCE RECEIPTS
REMITTANCE RECEIVING
REMITTANCE SENDER
REMITTANCES
REMITTANCES FLOWS
RESPECT
RICHER COUNTRIES
SECONDARY EDUCATION
SERIAL CORRELATION
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
SIMULATIONS
SQUARED POVERTY GAP
WAGES
spellingShingle ABSENCE OF REMITTANCES
ABSOLUTE TERMS
ANNUAL GROWTH
ANNUAL GROWTH RATE
AVERAGE INCOME
AVERAGE INCOME GROWTH
AVERAGE INCOME LEVEL
BALANCE OF PAYMENT
BALANCE OF PAYMENT STATISTICS
CAPITA INCOME
CAPITA REMITTANCES
CAPITAL FLOWS
COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYEES
CONDITIONAL CONVERGENCE
COUNTRY
COUNTRY CHARACTERISTICS
COUNTRY REGRESSIONS
COUNTRY REMITTANCES
COUNTRY SPECIFIC
COUNTRY-SPECIFIC EFFECTS
CROSS-COUNTRY ANALYSIS
CROSS-COUNTRY DATA
CROSS-COUNTRY PANEL
CROSS-COUNTRY STUDIES
CUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTION
DATA AVAILABILITY
DATA ON REMITTANCES
DENSITY FUNCTION
DEPENDENT VARIABLE
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING COUNTRY
DEVELOPING WORLD
DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONERS
DIFFERENCE ERROR
DISTRIBUTIONAL IMPACT
DYNAMIC PANEL
DYNAMIC PANEL FRAMEWORK
ECONOMETRIC ISSUES
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
ECONOMICS
ECONOMICS LITERATURE
EFFECT OF REMITTANCES
EFFECTS OF REMITTANCES
ELASTICITY
ELASTICITY OF POVERTY
EMPIRICAL ESTIMATES
EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
EMPIRICAL RESULTS
EMPIRICAL SECTION
EMPIRICAL WORK
ENDOGENOUS VARIABLES
EQUALIZING EFFECT
ERROR TERM
ERROR TERMS
ESTIMATED COEFFICIENTS
ESTIMATED REDUCTION
EXOGENOUS VARIABLE
EXPLANATORY VARIABLES
EXTENDED FAMILY
FAMILIES DUE
FAMILY MEMBERS
FERTILITY
FERTILITY RATE
FIXED EFFECTS
FLOWS OF REMITTANCES
FOREIGN REMITTANCES
FUNCTIONAL FORM
GDP
GINI COEFFICIENT
GINI INDEX
GLOBAL LEVEL
GROWTH
GROWTH CONTEXT
GROWTH DATA
GROWTH EQUATION
GROWTH LITERATURE
GROWTH MODELS
GROWTH OF REMITTANCES
GROWTH RATES
GROWTH REGRESSION
GROWTH REGRESSIONS
HEADCOUNT POVERTY
HEADCOUNT RATIO
HIGH CORRELATION
HOME COUNTRIES
HOUSEHOLD ASSETS
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
HOUSEHOLD LEVEL
HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY DATA
HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
IMPACT OF MIGRATION
IMPACT OF REMITTANCES
INCOME DISTRIBUTION
INCOME INEQUALITY
INCOME LEVELS
INCOME SOURCE
INCOME SOURCES
INCREASE GROWTH
INCREASE IN REMITTANCES
INCREASING INCOME INEQUALITY
INEQUALITY AVERSION
INEQUALITY CHANGES
INEQUALITY ELASTICITIES
INEQUALITY LEVELS
INEQUALITY REGRESSIONS
INEQUALITY RESULTS
INEQUALITY VARIABLES
INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCES
LAGGED LEVELS
LAGGED VALUES
LOG NORMAL
LOG-NORMAL APPROXIMATION
LOG-NORMAL DISTRIBUTION
MACROECONOMIC EFFECTS
MEAN INCOME
MICRO DATA
MIGRANT
MIGRANT DESTINATION COUNTRIES
MIGRANT FAMILIES
MIGRANT FAMILY
MIGRANT FAMILY MEMBERS
MIGRANT NETWORKS
MIGRANT TRANSFERS
MIGRANT-SENDING COUNTRIES
MIGRANTS
MIGRATION
MIGRATION FLOWS
MIGRATION PATTERNS
MINORITY
NATIONAL LEVEL
NEGATIVE COEFFICIENT
0 HYPOTHESIS
OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
PER CAPITA INCOME
PER CAPITA INCOME LEVEL
PER CAPITA INCOME LEVELS
POINT ESTIMATES
POLICY RESEARCH
POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER
POSITIVE EFFECT
POSITIVE IMPACT
POSITIVE VALUE
POVERTY
POVERTY GAP
POVERTY LEVELS
POVERTY LINE
POVERTY MEASURES
POVERTY REDUCING
POVERTY REDUCTION
PRACTITIONERS
PROGRESS
RATES OF GROWTH
RECIPIENT HOUSEHOLDS
REDUCED INEQUALITY
REDUCING INEQUALITY
REMITTANCE
REMITTANCE RECEIPTS
REMITTANCE RECEIVING
REMITTANCE SENDER
REMITTANCES
REMITTANCES FLOWS
RESPECT
RICHER COUNTRIES
SECONDARY EDUCATION
SERIAL CORRELATION
SIGNIFICANT EFFECT
SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
SIMULATIONS
SQUARED POVERTY GAP
WAGES
Acosta, Pablo
Calderón, Cesar
Fajnzylber, Pablo
Lopez, Humberto
What is the Impact of International Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Latin America?
geographic_facet Latin America & Caribbean
relation Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4249
description Workers' remittances have become a major source of income for developing countries. However, little is still known about their impact on poverty and inequality. Using a large cross-country panel dataset, the authors find that remittances in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries have increased growth and reduced inequality and poverty. These results are robust to the use of different instruments that attempt to correct for the potential endogeneity of remittances. Household survey-based estimates for 10 LAC countries confirm that remittances have negative albeit relatively small inequality and poverty-reducing effects, even after imputations for the potential home earnings of migrants.
format Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author Acosta, Pablo
Calderón, Cesar
Fajnzylber, Pablo
Lopez, Humberto
author_facet Acosta, Pablo
Calderón, Cesar
Fajnzylber, Pablo
Lopez, Humberto
author_sort Acosta, Pablo
title What is the Impact of International Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Latin America?
title_short What is the Impact of International Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Latin America?
title_full What is the Impact of International Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Latin America?
title_fullStr What is the Impact of International Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Latin America?
title_full_unstemmed What is the Impact of International Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Latin America?
title_sort what is the impact of international remittances on poverty and inequality in latin america?
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2012
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/06/7698933/impact-international-remittances-poverty-inequality-latin-america
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7400
_version_ 1764401970225872896
spelling okr-10986-74002021-04-23T14:02:33Z What is the Impact of International Remittances on Poverty and Inequality in Latin America? Acosta, Pablo Calderón, Cesar Fajnzylber, Pablo Lopez, Humberto ABSENCE OF REMITTANCES ABSOLUTE TERMS ANNUAL GROWTH ANNUAL GROWTH RATE AVERAGE INCOME AVERAGE INCOME GROWTH AVERAGE INCOME LEVEL BALANCE OF PAYMENT BALANCE OF PAYMENT STATISTICS CAPITA INCOME CAPITA REMITTANCES CAPITAL FLOWS COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYEES CONDITIONAL CONVERGENCE COUNTRY COUNTRY CHARACTERISTICS COUNTRY REGRESSIONS COUNTRY REMITTANCES COUNTRY SPECIFIC COUNTRY-SPECIFIC EFFECTS CROSS-COUNTRY ANALYSIS CROSS-COUNTRY DATA CROSS-COUNTRY PANEL CROSS-COUNTRY STUDIES CUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTION DATA AVAILABILITY DATA ON REMITTANCES DENSITY FUNCTION DEPENDENT VARIABLE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRY DEVELOPING WORLD DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONERS DIFFERENCE ERROR DISTRIBUTIONAL IMPACT DYNAMIC PANEL DYNAMIC PANEL FRAMEWORK ECONOMETRIC ISSUES ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ECONOMICS ECONOMICS LITERATURE EFFECT OF REMITTANCES EFFECTS OF REMITTANCES ELASTICITY ELASTICITY OF POVERTY EMPIRICAL ESTIMATES EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE EMPIRICAL RESULTS EMPIRICAL SECTION EMPIRICAL WORK ENDOGENOUS VARIABLES EQUALIZING EFFECT ERROR TERM ERROR TERMS ESTIMATED COEFFICIENTS ESTIMATED REDUCTION EXOGENOUS VARIABLE EXPLANATORY VARIABLES EXTENDED FAMILY FAMILIES DUE FAMILY MEMBERS FERTILITY FERTILITY RATE FIXED EFFECTS FLOWS OF REMITTANCES FOREIGN REMITTANCES FUNCTIONAL FORM GDP GINI COEFFICIENT GINI INDEX GLOBAL LEVEL GROWTH GROWTH CONTEXT GROWTH DATA GROWTH EQUATION GROWTH LITERATURE GROWTH MODELS GROWTH OF REMITTANCES GROWTH RATES GROWTH REGRESSION GROWTH REGRESSIONS HEADCOUNT POVERTY HEADCOUNT RATIO HIGH CORRELATION HOME COUNTRIES HOUSEHOLD ASSETS HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD LEVEL HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS HOUSEHOLD SURVEY DATA HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS IMPACT OF MIGRATION IMPACT OF REMITTANCES INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME INEQUALITY INCOME LEVELS INCOME SOURCE INCOME SOURCES INCREASE GROWTH INCREASE IN REMITTANCES INCREASING INCOME INEQUALITY INEQUALITY AVERSION INEQUALITY CHANGES INEQUALITY ELASTICITIES INEQUALITY LEVELS INEQUALITY REGRESSIONS INEQUALITY RESULTS INEQUALITY VARIABLES INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCES LAGGED LEVELS LAGGED VALUES LOG NORMAL LOG-NORMAL APPROXIMATION LOG-NORMAL DISTRIBUTION MACROECONOMIC EFFECTS MEAN INCOME MICRO DATA MIGRANT MIGRANT DESTINATION COUNTRIES MIGRANT FAMILIES MIGRANT FAMILY MIGRANT FAMILY MEMBERS MIGRANT NETWORKS MIGRANT TRANSFERS MIGRANT-SENDING COUNTRIES MIGRANTS MIGRATION MIGRATION FLOWS MIGRATION PATTERNS MINORITY NATIONAL LEVEL NEGATIVE COEFFICIENT 0 HYPOTHESIS OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PER CAPITA INCOME PER CAPITA INCOME LEVEL PER CAPITA INCOME LEVELS POINT ESTIMATES POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POSITIVE EFFECT POSITIVE IMPACT POSITIVE VALUE POVERTY POVERTY GAP POVERTY LEVELS POVERTY LINE POVERTY MEASURES POVERTY REDUCING POVERTY REDUCTION PRACTITIONERS PROGRESS RATES OF GROWTH RECIPIENT HOUSEHOLDS REDUCED INEQUALITY REDUCING INEQUALITY REMITTANCE REMITTANCE RECEIPTS REMITTANCE RECEIVING REMITTANCE SENDER REMITTANCES REMITTANCES FLOWS RESPECT RICHER COUNTRIES SECONDARY EDUCATION SERIAL CORRELATION SIGNIFICANT EFFECT SIGNIFICANT IMPACT SIMULATIONS SQUARED POVERTY GAP WAGES Workers' remittances have become a major source of income for developing countries. However, little is still known about their impact on poverty and inequality. Using a large cross-country panel dataset, the authors find that remittances in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries have increased growth and reduced inequality and poverty. These results are robust to the use of different instruments that attempt to correct for the potential endogeneity of remittances. Household survey-based estimates for 10 LAC countries confirm that remittances have negative albeit relatively small inequality and poverty-reducing effects, even after imputations for the potential home earnings of migrants. 2012-06-07T15:34:16Z 2012-06-07T15:34:16Z 2007-06 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/06/7698933/impact-international-remittances-poverty-inequality-latin-america http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7400 English Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4249 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research Latin America & Caribbean