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Remittances Deteriorate Governance

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  • Faisal Z. Ahmed

    (Oxford University)

Abstract

I use a natural experiment of oil-price-driven remittance flows to poor, non-oil-producing Muslim countries to demonstrate that remittances deteriorate the quality of governance, especially in countries with weak democratic institutions. The results indicate that a 1 standard deviation increase in remittances raises corruption by 1.5 index points (on a 6-point scale), which is equivalent to a [dollar]600 decrease in per capita GDP. Concomitantly, remittances may enable governments to reduce their delivery of public services (for example, health care, school enrollment). The results suggest that political institutions may mediate the potentially beneficial socioeconomic effects of remittance inflows. © 2013 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Faisal Z. Ahmed, 2013. "Remittances Deteriorate Governance," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(4), pages 1166-1182, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:95:y:2013:i:4:p:1166-1182
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    Cited by:

    1. ISLAM, MD. Rubel & LEE, Kang-Kook, 2023. "Do Foreign Remittances Promote Democracy? A Dynamic Panel Study of Developing Countries," Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 64(1), pages 59-85, June.
    2. Chrysost BANGAKE & Jude EGGOH, 2020. "Les transferts des migrants améliorent-ils l’inclusion financière dans les pays récipiendaires ?," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 51, pages 115-132.
    3. Paul Collier & Martina Kirchberger & Måns Söderbom, 2016. "The Cost of Road Infrastructure in Low- and Middle-Income Countries," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 30(3), pages 522-548.
    4. Batiz-Lazo, Bernardo & González-Correa, Ignacio, 2022. "The Journey of a Remittance in the US-Mexico Corridor: From My Salary to My Family," MPRA Paper 114233, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Thierry Baudassé & Rémi Bazillier & Ismaël Issifou, 2018. "Migration And Institutions: Exit And Voice (From Abroad)?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 727-766, July.
    6. Ngoc Thi Minh Tran & Michael P. Cameron & Jacques Poot, 2021. "How Robust Is the Evidence on the Impact of Diasporas on Institutional Quality in Home Countries?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(1), pages 126-152, February.
    7. Chrysost Bangake & Jude Eggoh, 2020. "Financial Development Thresholds and the Remittances-Growth Nexus," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 18(2), pages 425-445, June.
    8. Challe, Edouard & Lopez, Jose Ignacio & Mengus, Eric, 2019. "Institutional quality and capital inflows: Theory and evidence," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 168-191.
    9. Gautam, Durga P., 2021. "Does international migration impact economic institutions at home?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    10. Nana Kwabena Kufuor & Kevin Williams, 2024. "A source of funding for illicit activities or a solution to crime? Evidence from remittance inflows to Jamaica," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(1), pages 3-25, January.
    11. Escriba-Folch, Abel & Meseguer, Covadonga & Wright, Joseph, 2018. "Remittances and protest in dictatorships," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 89058, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Burns, Darren K. & Jones, Andrew P. & Goryakin, Yevgeniy & Suhrcke, Marc, 2017. "Is foreign direct investment good for health in low and middle income countries? An instrumental variable approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 74-82.
    13. Barkat, Karim & Alsamara, Mouyad & Mimouni, Karim, 2023. "Can remittances alleviate energy poverty in developing countries? New evidence from panel data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    14. Farrukh, Muhammad Umar & Bashir, Muhammad Khalid & Rola-Rubzen, Maria Fay & Ahmad, Ashfaq, 2022. "Dynamic effects of urbanization, governance, and worker's remittance on multidimensional food security: An application of a broad-spectrum approach," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    15. Williams, Kevin, 2017. "Do remittances improve political institutions? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 65-75.
    16. Luis Gautier & Puneet Vatsa, 2023. "Corruption, remittances, and public goods: A unified framework," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(4), pages 1078-1085, October.
    17. Ambrosius, Christian, 2019. "Government reactions to private substitutes for public goods: Remittances and the crowding-out of public finance," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 396-415.
    18. Konte, Maty & Ndubuisi, Gideon, 2022. "Remittance dependence, support for taxation and quality of public services in Africa," MERIT Working Papers 2022-019, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    19. Konte, Maty & Ndubuisi, Gideon, 2019. "Remittances and Bribery in Africa," MERIT Working Papers 2019-043, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    20. Ogunniyi, Adebayo Isaiah & Mavrotas, George & Olagunju, Kehinde Oluseyi & Fadare, Olusegun & Adedoyin, Rufai, 2020. "Governance quality, remittances and their implications for food and nutrition security in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    21. Mounir Karadja & Erik Prawitz, 2019. "Exit, Voice, and Political Change: Evidence from Swedish Mass Migration to the United States," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(4), pages 1864-1925.
    22. Asatryan, Zareh & Bittschi, Benjamin & Doerrenberg, Philipp, 2017. "Remittances and public finances: Evidence from oil-price shocks," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 122-137.
    23. Hannes Warnecke-Berger, 2022. "The financialization of remittances and the individualization of development: A new power geometry of global development," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 54(4), pages 702-721, June.
    24. Minh Tran, Ngoc Thi & Cameron, Michael P. & Poot, Jacques, 2017. "International Migration and Institutional Quality in the Home Country: It Matters Where You Go and How Long You Stay!," IZA Discussion Papers 10945, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    25. Anam Alamdar & Munazza Ahmed & Atif Khan Jadoon, 2022. "Do Migrant Remittances Promote Corruption in Pakistan?," iRASD Journal of Economics, International Research Alliance for Sustainable Development (iRASD), vol. 4(1), pages 88-97, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    remittance flows; governance;

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • F24 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Remittances
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods

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