Migration, remittances & development
Background
Remittances are today seen as a panacea for development and poverty reduction. However, the links between migration, remittances and development are complex and have contradictory implications. Most recently, remittances have become linked to financial education, services and innovation through the involvement of the diaspora in development finance and the creation of investment possibilities. This ‘financialization’ of remittances is situated within the global financial inclusion agenda that promotes access to financial education and services for low-income populations as a strategy for development and women’s empowerment. The financialization of remittances and the development implications are currently a hot topic for scholars and policy-makers, yet empirical evidence is scarce and the challenges of this agenda have hardly been investigated. This lack of knowledge has led to the failure of policies and financial schemes, resulting in unproductive investment of remittances and contributed to alienating diasporas.
Objective
To investigate the relationships between migration, remittances, financial inclusion and development, focusing on the involvement of diasporas and their financial and non-financial capitals. This will allow to better understand these links and to elaborate policy recommendations and concrete initiatives to involve diasporas and their capital for development.
Expected Benefits
- In target country: i) Strengthened research capacities; ii) increased knowledge on the sending, receiving and use of remittances and their relationship to development and financial inclusion and on the links between financialization of remittances and broader financialization tendencies in the global South and North; and iii) policy recommendations and the development of concrete programs related to the use of remittances, linking global South and North.
- In Switzerland:
i) Linkages to DEZA’s work on migration and development with focal countries of Swiss development aid,
ii) Strengthening Swiss-based diaspora groups and increased collaboration opportunities between diaspora groups and development actors,
iii) Opportunities for Switzerland to offer expertise in financial innovation.
Contact Information
Rahel Kunz, , phone: + 41 21 692 36 39
Institut d'Etudes Politiques (IEP), Université de Lausanne
