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Remittances and Household Wealth after Conflict: A Case Study on Urban Burundi

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  • Fransen, Sonja
  • Mazzucato, Valentina

Abstract

Few studies have researched the use of remittances in conflict-affected contexts. This study analyzes unique data from Burundi, testing three hypotheses: relative deprivation, investment, and insurance, derived from New Economics of Labor Migration studies, employing propensity score matching. Results show that remittances are common among wealthier households, rejecting the relative deprivation hypothesis. Remittances have strong effects on non-productive assets, such as living conditions and food security, and weak effects on productive assets, such as asset ownership. Poorer households invest mostly in non-productive assets, suggesting that remittances are insurance for the poor, whereas wealthier households seem largely unaffected by remittances.

Suggested Citation

  • Fransen, Sonja & Mazzucato, Valentina, 2014. "Remittances and Household Wealth after Conflict: A Case Study on Urban Burundi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 57-68.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:60:y:2014:i:c:p:57-68
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.03.018
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    3. William Nkomoki & Miroslava Bavorová & Jan Banout, 2019. "Factors Associated with Household Food Security in Zambia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-18, May.
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    5. Abebaw, Degnet & Admassie, Assefa & Kassa, Habtemariam & Padoch, Christine, 2020. "Can rural outmigration improve household food security? Empirical evidence from Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    6. Kostas Mavromaras & Alfiah Hasanah & Silvia Mendolia & Oleg Yerokhin, 2017. "Labour Migration, Food Expenditure, and Household Food Security in Eastern Indonesia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 93, pages 122-143, June.
    7. Nikeel Nishkar Kumar & Arvind Patel, 2022. "Income thresholds in the remittances-growth association? a case study of Fiji," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(19), pages 1815-1823, November.
    8. Mack, Elizabeth A. & Sauls, Laura Aileen & Jokisch, Brad D. & Nolte, Kerstin & Schmook, Birgit & He, Yifan & Radel, Claudia & Allington, Ginger R.H. & Kelley, Lisa C. & Scott, Christian Kelly & Leisz,, 2023. "Remittances and land change: A systematic review," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    9. Kashif Imran & Evelyn S. Devadason & Cheong Kee Cheok, 2019. "Developmental Impacts of Remittances on Migrant-Sending Households: Micro-Level Evidence from Punjab, Pakistan," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 14(3), pages 338-366, December.
    10. Konan, Yao Silvère, 2017. "Post electoral crisis and international remittances: Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire," Economics Discussion Papers 2017-86, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    11. Slimani, Sana & Omri, Anis & Abbassi, Abdessalem, 2024. "International capital flows and sustainable development goals: The role of governance and ICT diffusion," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    12. Zsoka Koczan, 2016. "Remittances during crises," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 24(3), pages 507-533, July.

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