The World Bank - Working for a world free of poverty

Views menu

Blog

Remittance Markets in Africa - Book Launch Videos

Submitted by Dilip Ratha on Wed, 02/08/2012 - 08:17

We have just received the video recording of the launch event for Remittance Markets in Africa. The book launch was well attended and there was a lively Q&A. Sanket Mohapatra and I presented the key findings of their volume. Mr.

Some general information on US SEC registration of diaspora bonds

Submitted by Dilip Ratha on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 09:30

Of late I have been receiving a number of questions on legal requirements for selling retail diaspora bonds in the US. I am enclosing below some general information, but with the caveat that I am not a lawyer and I may be wrong. In the end reputable law firms (rather than economists like me) ought to be consulted.  



  • Retail diaspora bonds (even if they are a part of a larger institutional offering) should be registered under SEC Securities Act 33 Schedule B.

  • It can take 2-3 months to complete registration.

Global Economic Crisis and the Remittance-Unemployment Riddle

Submitted by Jason Gagnon, co-authors: David Khoudour-Castéras on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 10:11

As a consequence of the global economic crisis, 2009 marked a hiccup in the trend of increasing remittance flows to developing countries. In most parts of the world, the growth rate of remittances was indeed negative. But what is striking is that there was an inverse relationship between remittances and unemployment. In other words, the greater the drop in remittances, the higher was the increase in the unemployment rate. In Moldova, for instance, remittances decreased by 36% in 2009, while the unemployment rate increased by 61%. By contrast, in Fiji, remittances increased by 24% and unemployment dropped by 7%.


The scatter plot below illustrates the relationship between changes in remittances and changes in unemployment, both measured as the annual growth rate (in percentage) between 2008 and 2009, for 29 developing countries. The x-axis represents changes in remittances and the y-axis the change in unemployment. The figure shows a negative correlation between the two variables.

Towards better governance for U.S. labor migration

Submitted by Daniel Costa on Thu, 12/08/2011 - 13:35

Perhaps the toughest challenge faced by developed and developing countries alike is the governance of international labor migration. Some countries have developed useful mechanisms that foster economic growth and migrant integration into host societies. But in the United States, a well-informed, high level debate about how to improve employment-based migration management is conspicuously absent from the public discourse. Discussion in the media and debates in Congress typically focus narrowly on the concerns of employers who argue, for example, in favor of raising the numerical limits on two or three temporary visa categories, or those pushing for increased enforcement measures for irregular migrants.


The Economic Policy Institute’s new book, Value-Added Immigration: Lessons for the United States from Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, uses a comparative methodology to help fill this gap in the policy debate on labor migration in the United States. Authored by Ray Marshall, the U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Carter, it suggests how the United States could improve its own system based upon the best practices found in Australia, Canada, and the U.K. These three countries – while far from perfect – have evolved and adapted their migration governance to further a value-added strategy, i.e., one that seeks to improve productivity and innovation and fill labor shortages. They also do a better job of protecting the labor rights of foreign and native workers.

Worldwide Remittance Flows updated to $483 billion for 2011

Submitted by Dilip Ratha on Tue, 12/06/2011 - 09:11

We have updated the data on worldwide remittance flows -  including flows to developing countries and high income countries - to $483 billion in 2011. Of this, developing countries received $351 billion in 2011.  Worldwide remittance flows are expected to reach $593 billion in 2014.

Remittance flows to developing countries exceed $350 billion in 2011

Submitted by Dilip Ratha on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 20:05

Officially recorded remittance flows to developing countries are estimated to have reached $351 billion in 2011, up 8 percent over 2010 (See brief).


For the first time since the global financial crisis, remittance flows to all six developing regions rose in 2011. Growth of remittances in 2011 exceeded our earlier expectations in four regions, especially in Europe and Central Asia (due to higher outward flows from Russia that benefited from high oil prices) and Sub-Saharan Africa (due to strong south-south flows and weaker currencies in some countries that attracted larger remittances). By contrast, growth in remittance flows to Latin America and Caribbean was lower than previously expected, due to continuing weakness in the U.S. economy and Spain. Flows to Middle East and Africa were also impacted by the “Arab Spring”.

Consultation on Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Global Development

Submitted by Dilip Ratha on Tue, 11/29/2011 - 16:26

We are planning to initiate a Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Global Development. Please send your comments and suggestions on the consultation draft to migrationteam@worldbank.org.


The Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Global Development will be a global public good. It will seek to highlight the benefits and challenges of migration for sending and receiving communities as well as for migrants. The Knowledge Partnership will:


(i) provide an open, multidisciplinary platform to debate, discuss and exchange knowledge on migration issues;


(ii) generate a menu of policy choices based on evidence and peer-review, and


(iii) will assist sending and receiving countries in implementing a few pilot policy operations and capacity building efforts to evaluate and mainstream a few policy choices.