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The objective of this study is to examine the long-run relationship between workers' remittances and economic growth in Sri Lanka using time series data spanning 1975–2021.

This study employed both exploratory data analysis (EDA) and inferential data analysis (IDA) tools. EDA includes the scatter plots, confidence ellipse with Kernel fit, whereas IDA covers unit root test, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds technique, the Granger's causality test, and impulse response function (IRF) analysis.

EDA confirms that workers' remittances have a positive relationship with per-capita gross domestic product (GDP). All variables used in this study are I(1). This study is exhibited that workers' remittances have a positive long-run relationship with per-capita GDP. The estimated coefficient of the error correction term shows that the dependent variable moves towards the long-run equilibrium path. Workers' remittances have a short-run and long-run causal relationship with per-capita GDP. The IRF analysis indicates that a one standard deviation shock to workers' remittances has initially an immediate significant positive impact on economic growth.

This study provides insights into workers' remittances in economic growth in Sri Lanka. Further, the findings of this study also provide evidence that workers' remittances increase economic growth.

Using ARDL bounds test, Granger's Causality test and IRF analysis for examining the relationship between workers' remittances and economic growth are the originality of this study.

The purpose of this study aims to investigate the nature of the relationship between workers' remittances and financial development (FD) in Sri Lanka for the period from 1975 to 2017.

This study used both the exploratory data analysis and inferential data analysis (IDA) techniques to test the objective of this study. The IDA technique consisted of the augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) and Phillips–Perron unit root tests, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds cointegration technique, the Granger causality test and impulse response function analysis.

The unit root test results show that the variables are in mixed order. The empirical results of cointegration confirm that workers' remittances have a beneficial long-run relationship with FD in Sri Lanka. The Granger causality test result indicates that there is a bidirectional relationship between workers' remittances and FD. The impulse response analysis indicates that a positive shock to workers' remittance has an immediate significant positive impact on the FD of up to 10 years.

The analytical techniques used in this study explain how workers' remittances induce FD in Sri Lanka.

This study fills an important gap in the academic literature by using newly developed ARDL bounds cointegration techniques in Sri Lanka, by using impulse response function analysis, and by studying the dynamic relationship between workers' remittances and FD using time series data.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the macroeconomic impact of migrant workers’ remittances on economic growth in four developing Asian countries namely: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

This study utilizes annual time series data over the period 1976-2012 and the ordinary least squares as an analytical technique for parameters estimation.

Empirical results support the existence of a significant positive relationship between migrant workers remittances and economic growth. The other control variables such as foreign direct investment, openness to trade and infrastructure are also found to be statistically significant with expected signs.

The findings of this study are expected to guide policy makers in formulating the right and relevant policies through which migrant workers’ remittances can be made more productive and its benefits for both migrants and the country of origin are maximized. Consequently, it will foster economic growth and development.

This paper provides some valuable evidences on the significance of migrant workers remittances as a source of economic growth. Moreover, the study differs from the erstwhile studies in terms of control variables, time period and method of estimation. Finally, the empirical results established are relatively robust.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of inbound and outbound labor migration on the Jordanian economy.

Using a qualitative analysis subsidized by two econometric models, foreign labor and their remittances and the Jordanian labor abroad and their remittances are examined for their impact on main macroeconomic indicators.

The characteristics of foreign labor and the Jordanian labor abroad, in terms of skills and qualifications are completely different. Productivity of a local worker is found to be higher than of a foreign worker. Thus, replacement of foreign labor is highly recommended but difficult due to “shame culture”. Foreign labor deepens unemployment and negatively affects economic growth through their effect on capital account, total reserve, and investment. Outbound labor migration reduced unemployment and speeds economic growth. They induce investment and increase reserves, but they also put an upward pressure on overall price and induce imported inflation.

Best utilization of these remittances can be achieved if they are mainly used for production rather than for consumption purposes. Remittances of foreign labor must be controlled to reduce leakages of the foreign currencies. Scheduled decrease in demand for foreign labor in Jordan is a must. But it must be accompanied by getting rid of the non‐reasonable “shame culture”, encouraging entrepreneurship, and enhancing quality of jobs.

The paper provides decision and policy makers with informative analysis of the net impact inbound and outbound labor migration. This analysis helps in drafting labor policies and regulations. The households sector is a key player for the success of these policies.

Remittances are the fastest growing source of foreign exchange earnings for developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of remittances on economic volatility of the receiving country.

A panel of 95 countries over the period 1970‐2005 is employed in the analysis. To assess the impact of remittances on volatility a multivariate model is estimated using a panel fixed effects approach with cross‐section weights.

The study reports that remittances can play a key role in mitigating the effect of adverse output shocks but exert no significant influence on consumption and investment volatility. Moreover, important differential impacts exist across the various country groupings.

Countries that are dependent on remittances may have to monitor and forecast future remittance flows and take these projections into account when making changes to either their monetary or fiscal policy stance.

The findings provided in this paper should be of use to policymakers in developing countries.

This chapter examines the lives of Central American immigrant workers, with a focus on the paramount position of legal status in immigrants’ lives.

The legal context into which Central American immigrant workers arrive creates the various legal statuses they hold, which in turn dictate the kind of jobs they can obtain, where they live and, in general, shape their prospects in the United States. Although many Central Americans have held various forms of temporary protection from deportation, such relief is temporary and therefore subject to multiple extensions, applications, forms, and renewals, which serve to accentuate these immigrants’ legal uncertainty. Given their legal predicament and the consequent truncated paths to mobility, many Central American immigrant workers live in poverty; indeed, they are more likely to live in poverty than other foreign born. At the same time, they have high labor force participation rates. Their high rates of poverty coupled with high labor force participation rates indicate that their jobs do not pay much. In spite of these circumstances, they remit a significant portion of their earnings to their non-migrating family members in the origin countries.

The largely unchanged occupational and sectorial concentrations of Central Americans in the U.S. economy over the last two decades underscores the critical implications of legal status for immigrant incorporation and socioeconomic mobility.

This chapter exposes the vulnerabilities imposed by a precarious legal status and highlights the importance of more secure legal statuses for immigrant workers’ potential integration and paths to mobility.

The present study aimed to examine the effect of received remittance inflows on the price level ratio of the purchasing power parity conversion factor to the market exchange rate in 36 developed and developing countries from 2004 to 2020.

The panel data conducted a comparative analysis and used panel least squares, regression with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors of fixed effect, random effect, feasible generalised least squares and maximum likelihood robust least squares to overcome the heterogeneity issue. Furthermore, the two-step difference generalised method of moments to overcome the endogeneity issue. Diagnostic tests were used to increase robustness.

In the studied countries, there was a statistically significant negative relationship between received remittance inflows and the price-level ratio of the purchasing power parity conversion factor to the market exchange rate. This relationship explains why remittance flows depreciate the real exchange rate. The study’s results also indicated that attracting investments can improve the quality of institutions despite high tax rates, leading to low tax revenue.

The current study findings enrich the understanding of policies of how governments should minimise tariff rates on capital imports and introduce export-oriented incentive programmes. The study also revealed that Dutch disease can occur due to differences in the demand structure and manufacturing development policy.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the macro-economic and institutional drivers of remittance inflows to Africa.

The paper uses an enhanced gravity model in a random effects framework to test two hypotheses dominant in literature as well as the institutional quality hypothesis. A bilateral data set is created from the most recent available remittance data set to afford the capture of the impact of the selected macro-economic variables from both the host and recipient countries.

The results provide support for the trio hypotheses. A key finding is the co-existence of altruism and self-interest motives. Also, control of corruption, financial development and a reduction in unofficial economic activity are observed to facilitate remittance inflows. The authors confirm the resilience of remittances during the global crisis and document a positive significant relationship between remittance inflows on the one hand and host migration stock, age dependency, etc., on the other.

This paper generates various insights in the design of relevant macro-economic and institutional policies to enhance remittance inflows and the productive use of the same for purposes of economic growth and development via poverty reduction and secure resource flow.

The majority of previous studies on the determinants of remittance inflows have basically focussed on the microeconomic variables, an approach that could understate the macro-economic impact of remittances and lead to inadequate policy formulation. The use of an enhanced gravity model on a newly created bilateral data set in the analysis is a nuance in the economics of remittances. Besides, previous studies have often ignored the institutional environment as critical in the remittance-determinant model.

The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of cost transparency introduced by the Remittance Prices Worldwide (RPW) online transaction cost comparison tool on remittance inflows of remittance recipient countries in emerging economies.

Panel fixed-effect model was employed to test the hypothesis focussing on the period five years before and five years after the adoption of the RPW tool. Macroeconomic determinants of international remittances were also included in the model, and the study focused on 115 emerging economies.

The econometric results reveal that financial development, gross domestic product (GDP) and inflation encourage remittance inflows, whereas interest rate and age dependency ratio discourage remittances. Political stability and migrant stock seem not to influence remittances flowing into emerging markets.

Empirical evidence corroborates the hypothesis that an increase in cost transparency boosts remittance flows. The findings suggest cost transparency is another lever for policymakers to target in boosting remittance flows.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of rural–urban migration on agricultural (labor) productivity in China.

This paper closely follows the framework of Rozelle et al. (1999), Taylor et al. (2003) and Atamanov and Van den Berg (2012)—new economics of labor migration—to demonstrate the heterogeneous effects of migration on agricultural productivity, using simultaneous equations extended by an interaction term of off-farm income and household wealth.

The results empirically verify two key theoretical predictions: the loss of labor available for agricultural activities decreases rice yield per worker per day, and the off-farm income that may relax liquidity constraints has a positive offsetting effect, which becomes weaker with increasing household wealth. The final calculation based on these two contradictory influences indicates that the lost-labor effect dominates across all levels of household wealth, resulting in a negative net impact of rural–urban migration on agricultural productivity. The key results are shown to hold for land productivity as well.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, it is the first paper to examine the impacts of rural–urban migration on labor productivity and the heterogeneity across households with different levels of wealth. A major policy issue facing national leaders is whether the massive and ongoing outflow of labor will be a threat to China’s rural development and its food security in the future. This paper provides insightful ideas in a different way.