Does Demographic Characteristics Affect Remittance Behavior? An Analysis of Migrants in the UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a popular destination for migrant workers worldwide, not just from Asia. Along with expanding the UAE’s economic activities, the amount of remittance outflows has increased dramatically, making it the second-largest remitting country, just behind the United States. This study looks into the important demographic factors that influence migrant remittance behavior in the Emirates. The examinations revealed that age, race, marital status, and a number of dependents are the most important factors influencing remittance behavior, while gender is found to be insignificant, proving the popular premise of female altruism to be incorrect. The findings are expected to assist policymakers in the government in devising ways and means to reduce remittance outflows as they have vital implications for some key macro-economic variables such as inflation and exchange rate as well as financial service providers in the UAE, in orchestrating a suitable promotional strategy to target suitable cohorts.

Soul-searching in the Chinese and Indian diasporas

The Chinese and Indian diasporas constituted two of the most massive migration flows in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Yet they were seldom compared. This commentary explores one of their key differences, namely, how they handled their lost souls. For the Chinese migrants of that period, what they dreaded most was dying alone in a foreign land and becoming a stray ghost. Their fervent wish was for their bones and souls to be reunited with their forebears in the ancestral graves. Much effort was made individually and collectively to ensure that this final wish would be realized. However, for the Hindu migrants, the same dread induced quite a different response. Their physical remains were of little importance to them. There was no urgency in seeking a return of their souls to their ancestral land. Their fervent wish was for their souls to be ritually purified and reunited with their ancestors in the sacred cosmos. This commentary further examines how these cultural differences also bear on how Chinese and Hindu migrants differ in their remittance behavior, network patterns and homeland ties.

Revisiting the Motivations behind Remittance Behavior: Evidence of Debt-Financed Migration from Afghanistan

In an insecure environment like Afghanistan it is believed that many families consider establishing household members at different geographic locations, frequently abroad, as a way to hedge against risks to a sustainable livelihood. With this in mind, this study examines whether such a migration strategy rests on remittance transfers as an alternative source of income, exploiting the way in which migration is financed as a discriminating factor. Our results show remittance transfers are lower for debt-financed migrants, and the influence of certain individual and household characteristics are in line with what we would expect if altruism is the dominating motivation. In light of this finding, we speculate that the sending of household members abroad as a risk-coping strategy may be less about having an alternative source of income and more about having an alternative location to escape to if the security situation happens to take a turn for the worse.

Guyanese remittance motivations: altruistic?

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the remittance behavior of Guyanese immigrants living in three communities of New York City, USA to assess their remittance behavior and if these are motivated by altruism or the intent to return to live in Guyana. Over the last two decades, remittances accounted for approximately 17 percent of the GDP of the Guyanese economy and continue to grow. The bulk of these remittances are significant from its native sons and daughters residing in the USA. Design/methodology/approach – This case study uses non-experimental survey research design with survey data collected from 300 participants living in New York, with 236 selected for analysis. Findings – Guyanese living in New York City remit monies to Guyana because of a pure altruistic motive as well as believing that their contributions have a positive impact on the economic development of their nations regardless of their intention to return to Guyana. These findings support the altruistic model on remittance motivation. Research limitations/implications – The data gathered for this survey are restricted to three communities in the USA where Guyanese are significant in numbers, thus limiting generalizations and findings to other countries such as Canada, England, where there are significant enclaves of Guyanese immigrants. Practical implications – New York-based Guyanese deem their remittances as contributing to the economic development of their country. This suggest that there may room for a coordinated policy on the part of the Government of Guyana to develop a coordinated plan to engage overseas-based Guyanese to remit more to help with Guyana economic development efforts. Originality/value – This is the first study to survey Guyanese in their host countries to gather information on remittances motivation and the perceived impact of these remittances from the sender's perspective. The paper highlights the significant remittance contributions of US-based Guyanese and their net private flows to Guyana.

Remittance behaviour and integration process of Ukrainian migrants in Italy and the Czech Republic

This paper uses a case study of Ukrainian migrants in Italy and the Czech Republic to demonstrate the similarities in remittance behavior and integration process of same ethnic group in different destination countries. Our findings show that that remittance behavior of Ukrainian migrants in the Czech Republic and Italy is significantly determined by their financial situation, demographic characteristics, level of human capital and the level of integration as well as the specific context characteristics. In addition, we find evidence for the fact that Ukrainian migrants who are more settled in a target country will send less or no remittances to Ukraine and that therefore the Stark’s hypothesis of remittances decay holds true for this ethnical group regardless of the country of residence.