Remittance Markets in Africa

Remittance Markets in Africa
Author: Sanket Mohapatra
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 380
Release: 2011-01-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0821385534

Remittances sent by African migrants have become an important source of external finance for countries in the Sub-Saharan African region. In many African countries, these flows are larger than foreign direct investment and portfolio debt and equity flows. In some cases, they are similar in size to official aid from multilateral and bilateral donors. Remittance markets in Africa, however, remain less developed than other regions. The share of informal or unrecorded remittances is among the highest for Sub-Saharan African countries. Remittance costs tend to be significantly higher in Africa both for sending remittances from outside the region and for within-Africa (South-South) remittance corridors. At the same time, the remittance landscape in Africa is rapidly changing with the introduction of new remittance technologies, in particular mobile money transfers and branchless banking. This book presents findings of surveys of remittance service providers conducted in eight Sub-Saharan African countries and in three key destination countries. It looks at issues relating to costs, competition, innovation and regulation, and discusses policy options for leveraging remittances for development in Africa.

Leveraging Migration for Africa

Leveraging Migration for Africa
Author: Dilip Ratha
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2011-04-26
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0821387189

This book seeks to fill knowledge gaps on migration, remittances and diaspora in Africa.

Author: Isaku Endo
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 112
Release: 2010-11-11
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0821384449

This report, Remittance Corridors to Uganda: United Kingdom, United States, and South Africa, analyzes and compares three bilateral remittance corridors. The comparison highlights similarities and differences and the significance of the remittance-sending countries to Uganda in terms of volume, corridor formality, risks, and vulnerability to money laundering. It also describes Uganda as a remittance-receiving country and outlines the remittance flows, market players, distribution network, access and usage of remittance, regulatory framework, and measures taken toward anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). The issues and challenges faced by Uganda are identified and policy recommendations are made for both Uganda and remittance-sending countries.

Determinants and Macroeconomic Impact of Remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa

Determinants and Macroeconomic Impact of Remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa
Author: Kyung-woo Lee
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 28
Release: 2009-10-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1451873638

The paper investigates the determinants and the macroeconomic role of remittances in sub-Saharan Africa, assembling the most comprehensive dataset available so far on remittances in the region and incorporating data on the diaspora. It finds that remittances are larger for countries with a larger diaspora or when the diaspora is located in wealthier countries, and that they behave countercyclically, consistent with a role as a shock absorber. Although the effect of remittances in growth regressions is negative, countries with well functioning domestic institutions seem nevertheless to be better at unlocking the potential for remittances to contribute to faster economic growth.

The Effect of International Remittances on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Effect of International Remittances on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Author: Gashaw Atilaw
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 81
Release: 2022-09-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3346715051

Master's Thesis from the year 2021 in the subject Economics - Economic Cycle and Growth, grade: 3.75 (good), Ethiopian Civil Service University, language: English, abstract: This paper is about the effect of international remittances of economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. For many developing economies, remittances constitute the single largest source of foreign exchange, exceeding export revenues, foreign direct investment (FDI), and other private capital inflows. This study aims to examine the effect of international remittances on economic growth in SSA countries using a panel data approach. The System Generalized Method of Moments was used as the main model of analysis. The sample consists of 29 SSA countries for the period 2004-2019. The study findings show that international remittance has a positive and significant effect on economic growth in SSA. The study recommends that SSA countries should be designing policies and strategies that facilitate less costly and hassle-free flow of remittances into national development. There is a need to have well-established institutional frameworks to train, support, and ensure the welfare of emigrants abroad by the provision of information or services to assist migrant welfare and promote remittances and investment in the home country.

The Global Financial Crisis and Workers' Remittances to Africa

The Global Financial Crisis and Workers' Remittances to Africa
Author: Mr.Ralph Chami
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 23
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 145196241X

Using data on the distribution of migrants from Africa, GDP growth forecasts for host countries, and after estimating remittance multipliers in recipient countries, this paper estimates the impact of the global economic crisis on African GDP via the remittance channel during 2009-2010. It forecasts remittance declines into African countries of between 3 and 14 percentage points, with migrants to Europe hardest hit while migrants within Africa relatively unaffected by the crisis. The estimated impact on GDP for relatively remittance-dependent countries is 2 percent for 2009, but will likely be short-lived, as host country income is projected to rise in 2010.

Remittances in Africa

Remittances in Africa
Author:
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 56
Release:
Genre:
ISBN:

In recent years, much emphasis has been placed on the magnitude, growth and leveraging of remittances for development in the African continent. Remittances in Africa is a review that catalogues the main studies, policies and technical assistance programs on remittances in Africa that have been carried out by the World Bank, other multilateral and bilateral development agencies, and governments. These activities have lead up to and influenced, directly or indirectly, the initiative of creating an African Institute for Remittances (AIR). As one of five Africa’s Legacy projects, AIR is to be established with the objective of harnessing migrant remittances for social and economic development in Africa. The contents of Remittances in Africa should prove useful in undertaking further research in support of this goal.

The Market for Remittance Services in Southern Africa

The Market for Remittance Services in Southern Africa
Author: World Bank Group
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2018
Genre:
ISBN:

Remittances are an important source of income for households in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as a crucial source of foreign exchange for countries in the region. Despite the relatively large inflows of remittances to SADC, the cost of sending money to and within the region is significantly higher than other regions in the world. To address the high cost of remittances globally, the World Bank has been involved in a number of initiatives aimed at improving the efficiency and safety of the market for remittances. At the regional level, the SADC Committee of Central Bank Governors (CCBG) has led several initiatives aimed at enhancing the regional payment system infrastructure, also with a focus on reducing the cost of remittances within the region.

Africa's Finances

Africa's Finances
Author: Raj Bardouille
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2008
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Globally, the volume of remittances to developing countries exceeds the development aid budgets. This volume explores the contribution of remittances to Africaâ (TM)s finances and provides concrete guidelines as to how these may be expanded. It contains essays by the field leaders in this area which record, review and revise our knowledge base on Africaâ (TM)s remittance patterns. The advent of new information communication technologies can contribute to an expanded capture of remittances from the African diaspora and in Africa new forms of money transfer are already taking shape which reflect this affordance. The volume also examines other resources, such as skills, that the African diaspora remits in its patterns of contact with Africa. The volume, shaped out of a conference on remittances and the African diaspora held at the Institute for African Development at Cornell University, is a timely reminder of the substantial role to be played in Africaâ (TM)s development by Africans themselves.

Remittances and Macroeconomic Volatility in African Countries

Remittances and Macroeconomic Volatility in African Countries
Author: Ahmat Jidoud
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 37
Release: 2015-03-02
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498380743

This paper investigates the channels through which remittances affect macroeconomic volatility in African countries using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model augmented with financial frictions. Empirical results indicate that remittances—as a share of GDP—have a significant smoothing impact on output volatility but their impact on consumption volatility is somewhat small. Furthermore, remittances are found to absorb a substantial amount of GDP shocks in these countries. An investigation of the theoretical channels shows that the stabilization impact of remittances essentially hinges on two channels: (i) the size of the negative wealth effect on labor supply induced by remittances and, (ii) the strength of financial frictions and the ability of remittances to alleviate these frictions.