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Do the Return Intentions of French Migrants Affect Their Transfer Behaviour?

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  • Fran�ois-Charles Wolff

Abstract

This paper investigates to what extent the return behaviour of migrants affects their transfer decisions, both at the extensive and intensive margins. We use a unique data set collected on migrants aged 45-70 living in France, with detailed information on both return intentions at retirement and on private transfers. We find that the temporary nature of migration strongly influences the pattern of transfers made by migrants. The probability of remitting for either personal savings or to family members in the origin country increases by more than 10 percentage points with return plans, the latter having no effect on gifts to family members living in France. At the intensive margin, the amount of personal savings sent to the origin country is about twice as high for migrants who intend to return.

Suggested Citation

  • Fran�ois-Charles Wolff, 2015. "Do the Return Intentions of French Migrants Affect Their Transfer Behaviour?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(10), pages 1358-1373, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:51:y:2015:i:10:p:1358-1373
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2015.1046443
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    1. repec:ces:ifodic:v:15:y:2017:i:3:p:50000000000046 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Bastien Chabé-Ferret & Joel Machado, 2017. "The Impact of Intention to Leave on Immigrants’ Behaviour," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 15(03), pages 16-19, October.
    3. Chabé-Ferret, Bastien & Machado, Joël & Wahba, Jackline, 2018. "Remigration intentions and migrants' behavior," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 56-72.
    4. Ngoc Thi Minh Tran & Michael P. Cameron & Jacques Poot, 2021. "Perception of Institutional Quality Difference and Return Migration Intention: The Case of the Vietnamese Diaspora," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 2114, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    5. Ngoc Thi Minh Tran & Michael P. Cameron & Jacques Poot, 2018. "Return or Not Return? The Role of Home-Country Institutional Quality in Vietnamese Migrants’ Return Intentions," Working Papers in Economics 18/04, University of Waikato.
    6. Bastien Chabé-Ferret & Joël Machado & Jackline Wahba, 2016. "Return Plans and Migrants' Behavior," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2016016, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    7. Auer, Daniel & Schaub, Max, 2023. "Returning from greener pastures? How exposure to returnees affects migration plans," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    8. Ngoc Thi Minh Tran & Michael P. Cameron & Jacques Poot, 2022. "Perception of institutional quality differences and intention of migrants to return home: a case study of Vietnamese diaspora," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 213-237, February.

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