IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/dia/wpaper/dt201523.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Modeling and Measuring Information Asymmetry in the Context of Senegalese Migrants' Remittances

Author

Listed:
  • Marlon Seror

    (Paris School of Economics, Ecole Normale Superieure and UMR DIAL IRD Paris)

Abstract

Much optimism has been invested in the developmental role of migrants’ remittances as altruism and frequent interactions should facilitate investments by migrants in their countries of origin. But geographical dispersion can foster strategic behavior. We develop a model of transfers from the Senegalese diaspora based on socio– anthropological evidence of remittances earmarked by migrants for investments or expenditures by their households of origin, especially durable assets. The model allows for information asymmetry and monitoring by the migrant. It shows that it may be optimal for recipients to behave strategically and we may observe systematic discrepancies between recipients’ and senders’ reports of the goods to be financed by transfers. Novel matched data enable us to test and find support for the model’s predictions.

Suggested Citation

  • Marlon Seror, 2015. "Modeling and Measuring Information Asymmetry in the Context of Senegalese Migrants' Remittances," Working Papers DT/2015/23, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    • Handle: RePEc:dia:wpaper:dt201523
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://dial.ird.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2015-23-Modeling-and-Measuring-Information-Asymmetry-in-the-Context-of-Senegalese-Migrants-Remittances.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2015
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Torero, Máximo & Viceisza, Angelino, 2015. "To remit, or not to remit: that is the question. A remittance field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 221-236.
    2. Catia Batista & Gaia Narciso, 2018. "Migrant Remittances and Information Flows: Evidence from a Field Experiment," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 32(1), pages 203-219.
    3. Dean Yang, 2011. "Migrant Remittances," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(3), pages 129-152, Summer.
    4. Bound, John & Krueger, Alan B, 1991. "The Extent of Measurement Error in Longitudinal Earnings Data: Do Two Wrongs Make a Right?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, January.
    5. Ralph Chami & Connel Fullenkamp & Samir Jahjah, 2005. "Are Immigrant Remittance Flows a Source of Capital for Development?," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 52(1), pages 55-81, April.
    6. Samuel Munzele Maimbo & Dilip Ratha, 2005. "Remittances: Development Impact and Future Prospects," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7339, December.
    7. Batista, Catia & Silverman, Dan & Yang, Dean, 2015. "Directed giving: Evidence from an inter-household transfer experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 2-21.
    8. Isabelle Chort & Jean-Noël Senne, 2012. "Intra-household Selection into Migration : Evidence from a Matched Sample of Migrants and Origin Households in Senegal," Post-Print hal-01516775, HAL.
    9. Joachim De Weerdt & Garance Genicot & Alice Mesnard, 2019. "Asymmetry of Information within Family Networks," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(1), pages 225-254.
    10. Jørgen Carling, 2008. "The determinants of migrant remittances," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 24(3), pages 582-599, Autumn.
    11. McKenzie, David & Gibson, John & Stillman, Steven, 2013. "A land of milk and honey with streets paved with gold: Do emigrants have over-optimistic expectations about incomes abroad?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 116-127.
    12. Grossman, Sanford J & Hart, Oliver D, 1983. "An Analysis of the Principal-Agent Problem," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 51(1), pages 7-45, January.
    13. Joost de Laat, 2008. "Household Allocations and Endogenous Information," Cahiers de recherche 0827, CIRPEE.
    14. Catia Batista & Gaia Narciso, 2013. "Migrant Remittances and Information Flows: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Nova SBE Working Paper Series novafrica:wp1306, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics.
    15. Nava Ashraf, 2009. "Spousal Control and Intra-household Decision Making: An Experimental Study in the Philippines," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(4), pages 1245-1277, September.
    16. Nava Ashraf & Diego Aycinena & Claudia Martínez & Dean Yang, 2011. "Remittances and the Problem of Control: A Field Experiment Among Migrants from El Salvador," Working Papers wp341, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    17. Chort, Isabelle & Gubert, Flore & Senne, Jean-Noël, 2012. "Migrant networks as a basis for social control: Remittance incentives among Senegalese in France and Italy," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 858-874.
    18. Carolina Castilla & Thomas Walker, 2013. "Is Ignorance Bliss? The Effect of Asymmetric Information between Spouses on Intra-household Allocations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 263-268, May.
    19. Chen, Joyce J., 2013. "Identifying non-cooperative behavior among spouses: Child outcomes in migrant-sending households," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 1-18.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ambler, Kate, 2015. "Don't tell on me: Experimental evidence of asymmetric information in transnational households," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 52-69.
    2. Batista, Catia & Silverman, Dan & Yang, Dean, 2015. "Directed giving: Evidence from an inter-household transfer experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 2-21.
    3. Catia Batista & Gaia Narciso, 2018. "Migrant Remittances and Information Flows: Evidence from a Field Experiment," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 32(1), pages 203-219.
    4. Catia Batista & Janis Umblijs, 2016. "Do migrants send remittances as a way of self-insurance?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 68(1), pages 108-130.
    5. Joachim De Weerdt & Garance Genicot & Alice Mesnard, 2019. "Asymmetry of Information within Family Networks," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(1), pages 225-254.
    6. Torero, Máximo & Viceisza, Angelino, 2015. "To remit, or not to remit: that is the question. A remittance field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 221-236.
    7. Kate Ambler & Susan Godlonton, 2020. "Information Asymmetries and Remittance Recipient Income: A Field Experiment in Malawi," Department of Economics Working Papers 2020-12, Department of Economics, Williams College.
    8. Ur Rehman, Obeid, 2023. "Spousal communication and information sharing: Evidence from migrants and their spouses," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    9. Chen, Joyce J., 2013. "Identifying non-cooperative behavior among spouses: Child outcomes in migrant-sending households," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 1-18.
    10. Ibrahim Sirkeci & Jeffrey H. Cohen & Dilip Ratha, 2012. "Migration and Remittances during the Global Financial Crisis and Beyond," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 13092, December.
    11. Ambler, Kate, 2013. "Don’t tell on me: Experimental evidence of asymmetric information in transnational households:," IFPRI discussion papers 1312, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    12. Olivier Bargain & Jordan Loper & Roberta Ziparo, 2024. "Women's Empowerment and Husband's Migration: Evidence from Indonesia," CERDI Working papers hal-04409953, HAL.
    13. Hoel, Jessica B., 2015. "Heterogeneous households: A within-subject test of asymmetric information between spouses in Kenya," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 123-135.
    14. Molina Millán, Teresa, 2015. "Regional Migration, Insurance and Economic Shocks: Evidence from Nicaragua," IZA Discussion Papers 9494, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Gaia Narciso, 2015. "Labour and migration in rural Vietnam," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-095, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    16. Uzma Afzal & Giovanna d'Adda & Marcel Fafchamps & Farah Said, 2016. "Gender and Agency within the Household: Experimental Evidence from Pakistan," Framed Field Experiments 00555, The Field Experiments Website.
    17. David McKenzie & Dean Yang, 2015. "Evidence on Policies to Increase the Development Impacts of International Migration," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 30(2), pages 155-192.
    18. Gaia Narciso, 2015. "Labour and migration in rural Vietnam," WIDER Working Paper Series 095, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    19. Nava Ashraf & Diego Aycinena & Claudia Martínez A. & Dean Yang, 2015. "Savings in Transnational Households: A Field Experiment among Migrants from El Salvador," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(2), pages 332-351, May.
    20. Carranza, Eliana & Donald, Aletheia & Grosset, Florian & Kaur, Supreet, 2022. "The Social Tax: Redistributive Pressure and Labor Supply," IZA Discussion Papers 15743, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Asymmetric Information; International migration; Remittances; Senegal;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • F24 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Remittances

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dia:wpaper:dt201523. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Loic Le Pezennec (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/diallfr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.