The check is in the mail: Household characteristics and migrant remittance from the U.S. to Mexico

Abstract

We develop a household model of migrant remittance that accounts for the effects of subsistence requirements and transaction costs on remittances. The model supports testable hypotheses about the effect on remittances of migrant income, family composition and distribution, transaction costs, income and residence security, and other household characteristics on remittance levels and frequency. We test these hypotheses using survey data on individual Mexican migrants in the United States. The results are broadly consistent with our hypotheses. For example, our subsistence requirement implies that below a threshold, the income effect on remittance is zero. This is borne out in our results.remittances, migrant income, transaction costs