Topic 24

Web Resources on Remittances and Development

FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS

• International Monetary Fund
The IMF provides definitions, guidelines for compiling data, and statistics about remittances as part of its keeping track of balance of payments between nations.  This page provides a link to the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, which defines remittances and provides guidelines for collecting and preparing remittances statistics.
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/bop/remitt.htm

  • World Bank Group
    Various departments and programs of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation provide data, analysis, and policy regarding remittances and their impact on development.
  • Inter-American Development Bank
    The IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund (FOMIN) reports on its policies toward enhancing remittance flows and their development impacts and provides data and research reports about remittances and their impact to Latin American and the Caribbean from all parts of the world.
    http://www.iadb.org/mif/subtopic.cfm?language=English&SUBTOPIC=REMS&TOPIC=
  • Department for International Development (UK)
    The DfID Remittance Information Library, which is called “Money Move,” provides comprehensive thematic and geographically categorized links to publications on remittances.
    http://www.moneymove.org/English/httpdocs/dril0.cfm

Searching the DfID website for “remittances” turns up additional DfID studies, reports, news and resources:
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/

DfID’s strategy toward migration and development, including remittances, is described in a policy paper, “Moving Out of Poverty, Making Migration Work Better for Poor People”:   http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/migration-policy-paper-draft.pdf

  • United States Agency for International Development
    The USAID’s Global Development Partnership program, which links public and private enterprise, has launched a Diaspora Networks Alliance (DNA) to leverage migrant resources, including remittances, for development.
    http://idea.usaid.gov/gp/diaspora/diaspora-network-alliance-dna

A “PDF Full Text Search” for “remittances” in the USAID publications library, Development Experience Clearing House, provides access to many research and policy publications related to remittances.
http://dec.usaid.gov/

  • International Organization on Migration
    The IOM supports policy and research activities related to migration and development.  A search for “remittances” yields many of IOM’s publications on the topic generally and in numerous countries.
    http://www.iom.int/jahia/jsp/index.jsp

ODI has examined remittances during crises: implications for humanitarian response
http://www.odi.org.uk/HPG/remittances.html

UNITED NATIONS

  • United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
    A search for remittances on the UNECE homepage provides access to numerous research and policy documents of interest.
    http://www.unece.org/unece/welcome.htmlFor researchers interested in household surveys, a joint meeting of the UNECE, World Bank, and US Census Bureau on January 14-15, 2008 examined the use of household surveys in measuring remittances in sending and receiving countries.  The agenda of the meeting and conference papers can be found at:
    http://www.unece.org/stats/documents/2008.01.migration.htm
  • United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division
    Searching for “remittances” at this website yields numerous reports on the definition, measurement, research publications, and policy activities related to the United Nations.
    http://unstats.un.org/unsd/default.htm
  • United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division organized for state members of the UN a High Level Dialogue for on Migration and Develoment, which took place 14-15 September 2006 in Turin.  A second High Level Dialogue is expected to assess the recommendations of the meetings of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (see below)   Some of papers prepared for this meeting covered remittances.
    http://www.un.org/esa/population/migration/turin/index.html
  • United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).
    Initiated in 2004 the UN-INSTRAW project on Gender, Migration, Remittances, and Development provides access to data, research reports (remittances to Lesotho, Dominican Republic, Senegal, Philippines), publications, news, and other resources with a gender perspective.
    http://www.un-instraw.org/

RESEARCH CENTERS

  • • Institute for Development Studies, University of Sussex
    The IDS website “Livelihoods Connect” provides a general overview of remittance and development issues and links to international conference agendas and papers and publications on the role that remittances play in the livelihoods of people during emergencies.  There are also links to a large number of organizations researching remittances.
    http://www.livelihoods.org/hot_topics/migration/remittancesindex.html#3
  • • Institute for the Study of International Migration
    ISIM has organized a Research Consortium on Remittances in Conflicts and Crises, which coordinates between international researchers and provides links to studies by some of it members.
    http://isim.georgetown.edu/pages/RCRCC.html 

OTHER RESOURCES

  • • Global Forum on Migration and Development
    Created by state members of the United Nations to promote positive relations between migration and development, the Global Forum on Migration and Development has met three times – in Brussels 9-11 July 2007, in Manila 27-30 October and in Athens 2-5 November 2009.  On the GFMD website, a reader can search for “remittances” which will provide access to 29 or more documents on remittances in relation to various topics and countries.
    http://www.gfmd.org/
  • Migrant Remittances Newsletter
    Migrant Remittances is a quarterly e-newsletter providing information about news and trends in migrant remittances, the latest in remittances research, and links to valuable publications and events. The newsletter is a co-publication of USAID and DFID. It is aimed at USAID staff, donors, financial service providers, and other interested parties. Subscriptions and back issues are available.
    http://www.thedialogue.org/migrantremittancesnewsletter
  • Migration Policy Institute
    The organization’s Global Remittances Guide provides data on remittances as they are linked to both international migration and development.  To provide a portrait of global remittance flows, the guide leverages remittance data compiled by the World Bank’s Development Prospects Groupon more than 150 countries.The regional and country profiles displayed through the Global Remittances Guide:
    - Provide time series of formal remittance flows;
    - Compare remittances to GDP and critical financial flows including foreign direct investment,
    commercial service exports, merchandise exports, agricultural exports, and official
    development assistance;
    - Provide relevant international migration and socio-economic development data;
    - Display estimates of informal remittances from various sources;
    - Identify national economic and demographic sources relevant to remittances; and,
    - Suggest references for further research.To provide a portrait of global remittance flows, the guide leverages remittance data compiled by the World Bank’s Development Prospects Groupon more than 150 countries.A full Remittances Glossary is available along with Further Readings on Migration and Development topics.

    This data tool is a project of the Migration Policy Institute’s Migrants, Migration, and Development program.

    The organization’s Migration Information Source provides policy analysis, reporting, and summaries of findings by leading researchers.  A search for “remittances” yields over 35 publications on various aspects of remittance flows, their impact on development, and policies for development.
    http://www.migrationinformation.org/search.cfm

  • Red Internacional de Migracion y Desarrollo/International Network on Migration and Development
    This organization promotes research and practice that document and support positive relations between development and migration.  With individual and institutional members the organization organizes an international conference every two years and publishes a bi-annual journal, Migraciones y Desarrollo, which is available on line.  A search for “remesas” and “remittances” pulls up book, reports, and research articles by members of the red/network in Spanish and English.
    http://migracionydesarrollo.org/
  • Centro de Investigación y Cooperación Especializado en Remesas de Emigrants
    This organization provides Spanish-language access to news, research, and other web resources particularly related to the organization’s activities in Spain — capacity building, investigations, and cooperation, which are organized to enhance the development contributions of remittances http://www.remesas.org


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Web Anthology Compilation (pdf, 400k)
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Topics

Overview
Concepts, Methods, Measures, and Flows
Factors Affecting the Sending of Remittances
Use and Impacts of Remittances
Remittances in Broader Processes and Contexts
Additional Resources
Bibliography