Remittances in India: Facts and Issues

This paper provides a fact sheet of domestic and international remittances at the State level and across household characteristics and discusses the extent of remittance dependency, it’s growth since the 1990’s, the different uses of remittances across States, the possible impact on source region inequality and its importance in enhancing ‘financial inclusion.’ Data from the 49th and 64th round migration related National Sample Surveys, the Reserve Bank of India and the 2001 Census are used for the analysis. Some of the findings are: (a) The domestic remittance market was estimated to be $10 billion in 2007-08, 60% being Inter-State transfers and 80% directed towards rural households (b) Domestic remittances financed over 30% of household consumption expenditure in remittance receiving households that formed nearly 10% of rural India (c) Domestic remittance dependency was high in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and has generally grown since the 1990s, most notably in Orissa. (d) The top 25% households received around 50% of domestic remittances suggesting that remittances could be increasing source region inequality (e) 70% of domestic remittances were estimated to be channeled in the informal sector as against 25% in China revealing a huge opportunity for financial institutions to serve migrant workers (f) Kerala, Punjab and Goa accounted for over 40% of international remittance flows and are among the top remittance-dependent economies of the world.International Remittances; Domestic Remittances

Remittances in India: Facts and Issues

This paper provides a fact sheet of domestic and international remittances at the State level and across household characteristics and discusses the extent of remittance dependency, it’s growth since the 1990’s, the different uses of remittances across States, the possible impact on source region inequality and its importance in enhancing ‘financial inclusion.’ Data from the 49th and 64th round migration related National Sample Surveys, the Reserve Bank of India and the 2001 Census are used for the analysis. Some of the findings are: (a) The domestic remittance market was estimated to be $10 billion in 2007-08, 60% being Inter-State transfers and 80% directed towards rural households (b) Domestic remittances financed over 30% of household consumption expenditure in remittance receiving households that formed nearly 10% of rural India (c) Domestic remittance dependency was high in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and has generally grown since the 1990s, most notably in Orissa. (d) The top 25% households received around 50% of domestic remittances suggesting that remittances could be increasing source region inequality (e) 70% of domestic remittances were estimated to be channeled in the informal sector as against 25% in China revealing a huge opportunity for financial institutions to serve migrant workers (f) Kerala, Punjab and Goa accounted for over 40% of international remittance flows and are among the top remittance-dependent economies of the world

Remittances in India: Facts and Issues

This paper provides a fact sheet of domestic and international remittances at the State level and across household characteristics and discusses the extent of remittance dependency, it’s growth since the 1990’s, the different uses of remittances across States, the possible impact on source region inequality and its importance in enhancing ‘financial inclusion.’ Data from the 49th and 64th round migration related National Sample Surveys, the Reserve Bank of India and the 2001 Census are used for the analysis. Some of the findings are: (a) The domestic remittance market was estimated to be $10 billion in 2007-08, 60% being Inter-State transfers and 80% directed towards rural households (b) Domestic remittances financed over 30% of household consumption expenditure in remittance receiving households that formed nearly 10% of rural India (c) Domestic remittance dependency was high in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and has generally grown since the 1990s, most notably in Orissa. (d) The top 25% households received around 50% of domestic remittances suggesting that remittances could be increasing source region inequality (e) 70% of domestic remittances were estimated to be channeled in the informal sector as against 25% in China revealing a huge opportunity for financial institutions to serve migrant workers (f) Kerala, Punjab and Goa accounted for over 40% of international remittance flows and are among the top remittance-dependent economies of the world

EU-India Bilateral Remittances

CARIM-India is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Union.A hundred years ago, during colonial times, more than a hundred thousand migrants from Britain and Ireland worked in India, mostly as soldiers and administrators. In contrast, only around 4,000 Indians lived in Britain: 1,000 students and 2,500 persons working in navigation related activities. As a result, European countries were net recipients of migrants’ remittances from India. A century later, nearly a million emigrants from India live in the countries of the European Union (EU) and less than 10,000 EU expatriates work in India, making India a net recipient of migrants’ remittances from the EU. Considering the significantly large Indian emigrant base in the EU, few questions that emerge are: How much money flows from the EU to India by way of migrants’ remittances? What part of emigrant capital flows are sourced from the EU? And what are the country shares of these remittance flows? This paper attempts to address these questions basing its analysis on data compiled from numerous reports published by the Reserve Bank of India over the last three decades.CARIM-India: Developing a knowledge base for policymaking on India-EU migratio

Missing men, migration and labor markets : evidence from India

How do labor markets function when a large part of the able-bodied male workforce is absent due to out-migration? This question holds great significance as it affects regions covering over 200 million people in India and many other parts of the world. In this paper, we analyze individual and district level data on internal and international migration, remittances, sex ratios and labor market variables in India from the perspective of the migrant’s source region and find that the ‘missing men’ phenomenon is associated with (a) Feminization of the agricultural workforce (b) Higher levels of male employment in the construction and rural non-farm services sector and (c) Higher rural wages for males due to tighter labor markets. We argue that these associations are likely to be causal in nature through an instrumental variable strategy that employs historic migration networks that evolved in the late nineteenth century as instruments for current migration

EU-India migration and trade linkages

CARIM-India: Developing a knowledge base for policymaking on India-EU migrationThis paper reviews the relationship between migration and trade between India and the European Union (EU). It provides an overview of EU-India trade across various dimensions and links it with migration in three specific contexts: (a) The $ 14 billion EU-India diamond trade that represents nearly 15% of total EU-India merchandise trade, and that is attributed to the direct and active role played by Indian immigrants and the diaspora (b) The trade in food products such as lentils, beans, rice and spices that reflects the pull of goods towards the EU to meet the preferences of the Indian immigrants and (c) The trade in services in the computer & information, education and entertainment sectors and the mobility of professionals, students and tourists respectively.CARIM-India is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Unio