Few studies have examined the impact of international migration and remittances on poverty in a broad cross-section of developing countries. The authors try to fill this gap by constructing a new data set on poverty, international migration, and remittances for 74 low- and middle-income developing countries. Four key findings emerge: 1) International migration-defined as the share of a country's population living abroad-has a strong, statistical impact in reducing poverty. On average, a 10 percent increase in the share of international migrants in a country's population will lead to a 1.9 percent decline in the share of people living in poverty ($1.00 a person a day). 2) Distance to a major labor-receiving region-like the United States or OECD (Europe)-has an important effect on international migration. Developing countries that are located closest to the United States or OECD (Europe) are also those countries with the highest rates of migration. 3) An inverted U-shaped curve exists between the level of country per capita income and international migration. Developing countries with low or high per capita GDP produce smaller shares of international migrants than do middle-income developing countries. The authors find no evidence that developing countries with higher levels of poverty produce more migrants. Because of considerable travel costs associated with international migration, international migrants come from those income groups which are just above the poverty line in middle-income developing countries. 4) International remittances-defined as the share of remittances in country GDP-have a strong, statistical impact in reducing poverty. On average, a 10 percent increase in the share of international remittances in a country's GDP will lead to a 1.6 percent decline in the share of people living in poverty.

Few studies have examined the impact of international migration and remittances on poverty in a broad cross-section of developing countries. Adams and Page try to fill this gap by constructing a new data set on poverty, international migration, and remittances for 74 low- and middle-income developing countries. Four key findings emerge:- International migration - defined as the share of a country's population living abroad - has a strong, statistical impact in reducing poverty. On average, a 10 percent increase in the share of international migrants in a country's population will lead to a 1.9 percent decline in the share of people living in poverty ($1.00 a person a day).- Distance to a major labor-receiving region - like the United States or OECD (Europe) - has an important effect on international migration. Developing countries that are located closest to the United States or OECD (Europe) are also those countries with the highest rates of migration.- An inverted U-shaped curve exists between the level of country per capita income and international migration. Developing countries with low or high per capita GDP produce smaller shares of international migrants than do middle-income developing countries. The authors find no evidence that developing countries with higher levels of poverty produce more migrants. Because of considerable travel costs associated with international migration, international migrants come from those income groups which are just above the poverty line in middle-income developing countries.- International remittances - defined as the share of remittances in country GDP - have a strong, statistical impact in reducing poverty. On average, a 10 percent increase in the share of international remittances in a country's GDP will lead to a 1.6 percent decline in the share of people living in poverty.This paper - a product of the Poverty Reduction Group, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network - is part of a larger effort in the network to understand better how international migration and remittances affect poverty in developing countries.

This paper reviews common challenges faced by researchers interested in measuring the impact of migration and remittances on income, poverty, inequality, and human capital (or, in general, "welfare") as well as difficulties confronting development practitioners in converting this research into policy advice. On the analytical side, the paper discusses the proper formulation of a research question, the choice of the analytical tools, as well as the interpretation of the results in the presence of pervasive endogeneity in all decisions surrounding migration. Particular attention is given to the use of instrumental variables in migration research. On the policy side, the paper argues that the private nature of migration and remittances implies a need to carefully spell out the rationale for interventions. It also notices the lack of good migration data and proper evaluations of migration-related government policies. The paper focuses mainly on microeconomic evidence about international migration, but much of the discussion extends to other settings as well.

International migration, the movement of people across international boundaries, has enormous economic, social and cultural implications in both origin and destination countries. Using original research, this title examines the determinants of migration, the impact of remittances and migration on poverty, welfare, and investment decisions, and the consequences of brain drain, brain gain, and brain waste.

This book provides an analysis of theoretical and empirical researches on the effects of remittances and brain drain on the development of less developed countries (LDCs). It analyzes the most recent global, regional and national data as well as the arguments for and against the emigration of highly skilled personnel and remittances, thereby highlighting policies aimed at optimizing the link between migration and development. The book examines in depth the arguments against "brain drain", namely the loss of skilled labor, wasted public investment in higher education, and reduced tax revenues. It also presents the arguments in favor, emphasizing on the transfer of scientific knowledge, the incentive effect of increased education spending, and participation in international networks. It addresses the central issue of emigration of medical personnel from developing countries and its consequences on the population.The book focuses on the effects of remittances on poverty and inequalities. They improve health conditions, raise education levels and empower women. Positive effects include the stabilizing function of remittances and the improvement of external accounts. Other effects are subject to conflicting assessments such as the reduction of labor supply and the "Dutch disease". The focus is on institutions who integrate economic, social and political incentives in order to establish remittances at the heart of development policies.The book provides a reference for students and research centers devoted to development economics, centers for international migration studies, and research units focusing on population, migration, and development.

This publication presents the current situation with regard to the magnitude and economic impact of migrants’ remittances to their countries of origin.

International migration, the movement of people across international boundaries, has enormous economic, social and cultural implications in both origin and destination countries. Using original research, this title examines the determinants of migration, the impact of remittances and migration on poverty, welfare, and investment decisions, and the consequences of brain drain, brain gain, and brain waste.

International migration has become acentral element of international relations and global integration due to its rapidly increasing economic, social, and cultural impact in both source and destination countries. This book provides new evidence on the impact of migration and remittances on several development indicators, including innovative thinking about thenexus between migration and birth rates. In addition, the book identifies the effect of host country policies on migration flows, examines the determinants of return and repeat migration, and explores the degree of success of return migrants upon return to their country of origin.

This volume uses recent research from the World Bank to document and analyze the bidirectional relationship between poverty and migration in developing countries. The case studies chapters compiled in this book (from Tanzania, Nepal, Albania and Nicaragua), as well as the last, policy-oriented chapter illustrate the diversity of migration experience and tackle the complicated nexus between migration and poverty reduction. Two main messages emerge: Although evidence indicates that migration reduces poverty, it also shows that migration opportunities of the poor differ from that of the rest. In general, the evidence suggests that the poor either migrate less or migrate to low return destinations. As a consequence, many developing countries are not maximizing the poverty-reducing potential of migration. The main reason behind this outcome is difficulties in access to remunerative migration opportunities and the high costs associated with migrating. It is shown, for example, that reducing migration costs makes migration more pro-poor. The volume shows that developing countries governments are not without means to improve this situation. Several of the country examples offer a few policy recommendations towards this end.

This paper explores the impact of remittances on poverty, education, and health in 11 Latin American countries using nationally representative household surveys and making an explicit attempt to account for one of the inherent costs associated with migration -- the potential income that the migrant may have made at home. The main findings of the study are the following: (1) regardless of the counterfactual used remittances appear to lower poverty levels in most recipient countries; (2) yet despite this general tendency, the estimated impacts tend to be modes; and (3) there is significant country heterogeneity in the poverty reduction impact of remittances' flows. Among the aspects that have been identified in the paper that may lead to varying outcomes across countries are the percentage of households reporting remittances income, the share of remittances of recipient households belonging to the lowest quintiles of the income distribution, and the relative importance of remittances flows with respect to GDP. While remittances tend to have positive effects on education and health, this impact is often restricted to specific groups of the population.