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Migrant Remittances Provide Resilience Against Disasters in Africa

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  • Wim Naudé
  • Henri Bezuidenhout

Abstract

How responsive are migrant remittances to various disasters, both natural and human-made? Would remittances be affected by systemic financial crises, such as the 2008–09 financial crisis, or more recent crises affecting the Eurozone? Using panel data on 23 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from 1980 to 2007, we find that remittances are slow to respond to natural disasters, unresponsive to outbreaks of conflict, and will slowly decline following a systemic financial crisis. This suggests that, given its stability, remittances are sources of resilience in SSA. Copyright International Atlantic Economic Society 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Wim Naudé & Henri Bezuidenhout, 2014. "Migrant Remittances Provide Resilience Against Disasters in Africa," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 42(1), pages 79-90, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:atlecj:v:42:y:2014:i:1:p:79-90
    DOI: 10.1007/s11293-014-9403-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Giulia Bettin & Amadou Jallow & Alberto Zazzaro, 2023. "How Do Monthly Remittances Respond to Natural Disasters in Migrants’ Home Countries?," CSEF Working Papers 673, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    2. Muhammad Tariq Iqbal Khan & Sofia Anwar & Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie & Muhammad Rizwan Yaseen & Abdul Majeed Nadeem & Qamar Ali, 2023. "Natural disasters, resilience-building, and risk: achieving sustainable cities and human settlements," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 118(1), pages 611-640, August.
    3. Samuel Admassu, 2019. "A comparative analysis of African and Asian migrants’ effect on trade," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 2079-2092, June.
    4. Giulia Bettin & Alberto Zazzaro, 2018. "The Impact of Natural Disasters on Remittances to Low- and Middle-Income Countries," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(3), pages 481-500, March.
    5. Emeka Okoro Akpa & Segun Subair Awode & Andy Titus Okwu & Isiaq Olasunkanmi Oseni, 2020. "The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and Remittances Received in Africa: Any Lessons for Covid-19?," South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics, Association of Economic Universities of South and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region, vol. 18(2), pages 217-239.
    6. Satoshi Shimizutani & Eiji Yamada, 2021. "Resilience against the pandemic: The impact of COVID-19 on migration and household welfare in Tajikistan," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(9), pages 1-20, September.
    7. Daniel Osberghaus, 2019. "The Effects of Natural Disasters and Weather Variations on International Trade and Financial Flows: a Review of the Empirical Literature," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 305-325, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Remittances; Migration; Disasters; Global financial crisis; Africa; F24; F22; O55;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F24 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Remittances
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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