Remittances and food security

Abstract

Purpose

The continuous and rapid growth of remittances has become one of the sources of income for millions of poor families in developing countries. As such, an increase of remittance flow can have a significant impact on the ability of the household not only to get enough food but also to get nutritious foods. Therefore, this study investigates the implication of remittances on food security (FS) in 51 developing countries from 2011–2016.

Design/methodology/approach

A dynamic panel estimator is applied to examine remittances and FS nexus.

Findings

By using the dynamic panel estimator, the results indicate that the level of food supply tends to be higher in countries with a higher flow of remittances. This study justifies the need for high income as well as high middle-income countries to be more open and receptive to migration as this could indirectly the mean through which host countries can assist economic development in low-income developing countries.

Originality/value

Given the diverse measure of FS, past studies demonstrated a positive association between remittance and FS, but it may focus on only one dimension of FS. To the authors’ limited knowledge, this is not enough to know the importance of remittance in determining the overall FS status. Hence, this study wishes to extend the literature by using a more comprehensive measure of FS and more countries in the sample.

Citation

Subramaniam, Y., Masron, T.A. and Azman, N.H.N. (2022), "Remittances and food security", Journal of Economic Studies, Vol. 49 No. 4, pp. 699-715. https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-05-2020-0239