We develop a model to study the effects of migration and remittances on inequality
in the origin communities. While wealth inequality is shown to be monotonically
reduced along the time-span, the short- and the long-run impacts on income
inequality may be of opposite signs, suggesting that the dynamic relationship
between migration/remittances and inequality may well be characterized by an
inverse U-shaped pattern. This is consistent with the findings of the empirical
literature, yet offers a different interpretation from the usually assumed migration
network effects. With no need to endogenize migration costs through the role of
migration networks, we generate the same result via intergenerational wealth
accumulation
