IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/csl/devewp/393.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Impact of Natural Disasters on Remittances to Low- and Middle-income Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Giulia Bettin

    (Università Politecnica delle Marche)

  • Alberto Zazzaro

    (Università Politecnica delle Marche and Università di Napoli Federico II)

Abstract

In this paper, we offer novel empirical evidence on the impact of natural disasters on remittance flows towards low- and middle-income countries. We consider a panel of 98 countries over the period 1990-2010. Our findings show that remittances increase after a disaster, thus contributing ex post to the reconstruction process. At the same time, we find that remittances play a key role in terms of ex ante risk preparedness for those countries that experienced more disruptive events in the past. Finally, when taking into account the interaction with the level of development of the local financial sector, remittances seem to substitute for less efficient financial systems both in terms of ex post response to disasters and in terms of ex ante risk management strategy.

Suggested Citation

  • Giulia Bettin & Alberto Zazzaro, 2016. "The Impact of Natural Disasters on Remittances to Low- and Middle-income Countries," Development Working Papers 393, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano, revised 30 May 2016.
    • Handle: RePEc:csl:devewp:393
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.dagliano.unimi.it/media/WP2016_393.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yang Dean, 2008. "Coping with Disaster: The Impact of Hurricanes on International Financial Flows, 1970-2002," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 1-45, June.
    2. Coulibaly, Dramane, 2015. "Remittances and financial development in Sub-Saharan African countries: A system approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 249-258.
    3. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    4. David Roodman, 2009. "How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(1), pages 86-136, March.
    5. Ahamada, Ibrahim & Coulibaly, Dramane, 2011. "How does financial development influence the impact of remittances on growth volatility?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 2748-2760.
    6. 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.
    7. Eduardo Cavallo & Ilan Noy, 2009. "The Economics of Natural Disasters: A Survey," Research Department Publications 4649, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    8. Noy, Ilan, 2009. "The macroeconomic consequences of disasters," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 221-231, March.
    9. Docquier, Frédéric & Rapoport, Hillel & Salomone, Sara, 2012. "Remittances, migrants' education and immigration policy: Theory and evidence from bilateral data," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 817-828.
    10. Giuliano, Paola & Ruiz-Arranz, Marta, 2009. "Remittances, financial development, and growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 144-152, September.
    11. Arezki, Rabah & Brückner, Markus, 2012. "Rainfall, financial development, and remittances: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 377-385.
    12. Bettin, Giulia & Lucchetti, Riccardo & Zazzaro, Alberto, 2012. "Financial development and remittances: Micro-econometric evidence," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 184-186.
    13. Giulia Bettin & Andrea F. Presbitero & Nikola L. Spatafora, 2017. "Remittances and Vulnerability in Developing Countries," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 31(1), pages 1-23.
    14. Halliday, Timothy, 2006. "Migration, Risk, and Liquidity Constraints in El Salvador," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(4), pages 893-925, July.
    15. Rajen Mookerjee & Jellina Roberts, 2011. "Banking services, transaction costs and international remittance flows," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3), pages 199-205.
    16. Sanket Mohapatra & George Joseph & Dilip Ratha, 2012. "Remittances and natural disasters: ex-post response and contribution to ex-ante preparedness," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 365-387, June.
    17. Skoufias, Emmanuel, 2003. "Economic Crises and Natural Disasters: Coping Strategies and Policy Implications," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1087-1102, July.
    18. David Antonio C., 2011. "How do International Financial Flows to Developing Countries Respond to Natural Disasters?," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 11(4), pages 1-38, December.
    19. Toya, Hideki & Skidmore, Mark, 2007. "Economic development and the impacts of natural disasters," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 20-25, January.
    20. Loayza, Norman V. & Olaberría, Eduardo & Rigolini, Jamele & Christiaensen, Luc, 2012. "Natural Disasters and Growth: Going Beyond the Averages," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 1317-1336.
    21. Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli & Córdova, Ernesto López & Pería, María Soledad Martínez & Woodruff, Christopher, 2011. "Remittances and banking sector breadth and depth: Evidence from Mexico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 229-241, July.
    22. Christian Ebeke & Jean-Louis Combes, 2013. "Do remittances dampen the effect of natural disasters on output growth volatility in developing countries?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(16), pages 2241-2254, June.
    23. Rafael Reuveny & Will H. Moore, 2009. "Does Environmental Degradation Influence Migration? Emigration to Developed Countries in the Late 1980s and 1990s," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 90(3), pages 461-479, September.
    24. Combes, Jean-Louis & Ebeke, Christian Hubert & Etoundi, Sabine Mireille Ntsama & Yogo, Thierry Urbain, 2014. "Are Remittances and Foreign Aid a Hedge Against Food Price Shocks in Developing Countries?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 81-98.
    25. L. Le De & J. C. Gaillard & W. Friesen, 2015. "Poverty and Disasters: Do Remittances Reproduce Vulnerability?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(5), pages 538-553, May.
    26. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Susan Pozo & Carlos Vargas-Silva, 2007. "Remittances and the Macroeconomy: The Case of Small Island Developing States," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2007-22, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    27. Gupta, Sanjeev & Pattillo, Catherine A. & Wagh, Smita, 2009. "Effect of Remittances on Poverty and Financial Development in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 104-115, January.
    28. Lori M. Hunter & Sheena Murray & Fernando Riosmena, 2013. "Rainfall Patterns and U.S. Migration from Rural Mexico," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(4), pages 874-909, December.
    29. Mark Skidmore & Hideki Toya, 2002. "Do Natural Disasters Promote Long-Run Growth?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(4), pages 664-687, October.
    30. Giulia Bettin & Alberto Zazzaro, 2012. "Remittances And Financial Development: Substitutes Or Complements In Economic Growth?," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(4), pages 509-536, October.
    31. Strobl, Eric, 2012. "The economic growth impact of natural disasters in developing countries: Evidence from hurricane strikes in the Central American and Caribbean regions," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 130-141.
    32. Bang, James T. & Mitra, Aniruddha & Wunnava, Phanindra V., 2013. "Financial Liberalization and Remittances: Recent Longitudinal Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 7497, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    33. Raddatz, Claudio, 2007. "Are external shocks responsible for the instability of output in low-income countries?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 155-187, September.
    34. Freund, Caroline & Spatafora, Nikola, 2008. "Remittances, transaction costs, and informality," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 356-366, June.
    35. B. Gabriela Mundaca, 2009. "Remittances, Financial Market Development, and Economic Growth: The Case of Latin America and the Caribbean," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), pages 288-303, May.
    36. Richard P. C. Brown & Fabrizio Carmignani & Ghada Fayad, 2013. "Migrants’ Remittances and Financial Development: Macro- and Micro-Level Evidence of a Perverse Relationship," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 636-660, May.
    37. Mr. Michael Keen & Mr. Paul K. Freeman & Mr. Muthukumara Mani, 2003. "Dealing with Increased Risk of Natural Disasters: Challenges and Options," IMF Working Papers 2003/197, International Monetary Fund.
    38. Drabo, Alassane & Mbaye, Linguère Mously, 2011. "Climate Change, Natural Disasters and Migration: An Empirical Analysis in Developing Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 5927, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    39. Naudé, Wim & Bezuidenhout, Henri, 2012. "Remittances provide resilience against disasters in Africa," MERIT Working Papers 2012-026, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    40. 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.
    41. Matthew E. Kahn, 2005. "The Death Toll from Natural Disasters: The Role of Income, Geography, and Institutions," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(2), pages 271-284, May.
    42. Eduardo Cavallo & Ilan Noy, 2009. "The Economics of Natural Disasters: A Survey," Research Department Publications 4649, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    43. HwaJung Choi, 2007. "Are Remittances Insurance? Evidence from Rainfall Shocks in the Philippines," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 21(2), pages 219-248, May.
    44. Albala-Bertrand, J. M., 1993. "Political Economy of Large Natural Disasters: With Special Reference to Developing Countries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198287650, Decembrie.
    45. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Ross Levine, 2000. "A New Database on the Structure and Development of the Financial Sector," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 14(3), pages 597-605, September.
    46. Marlene Attzs, 2008. "Natural Disasters and Remittances: Exploring the Linkages between Poverty, Gender, and Disaster Vulnerability in Caribbean SIDS," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2008-61, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    47. Ms. Nicole Laframboise & Mr. Boileau Loko, 2012. "Natural Disasters: Mitigating Impact, Managing Risks," IMF Working Papers 2012/245, International Monetary Fund.
    48. Mr. Tobias N. Rasmussen, 2004. "Macroeconomic Implications of Natural Disasters in the Caribbean," IMF Working Papers 2004/224, International Monetary Fund.
    49. Berg, Gunhild & Schrader, Jan, 2012. "Access to credit, natural disasters, and relationship lending," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 549-568.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    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. Young Seok Song & Moo Jong Park, 2019. "Development of Damage Prediction Formula for Natural Disasters Considering Economic Indicators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-22, February.
    3. Supriyo De & Ergys Islamaj & M. Ayhan Kose & S. Reza Yousefi, 2019. "Remittances over the business cycle: Theory and evidence," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 48(3), November.
    4. Farid Makhlouf & Refk Selmi, 2023. ""From Aspirations for Climate Action to the Reality of Climate Disasters": Can Migrants Play Key Role in Disaster Response?," Working Papers hal-04137400, HAL.
    5. Kim, Kijin & Ardaniel, Zemma & Kikkawa, Aiko & Endriga, Benjamin, 2022. "Bilateral Remittance Inflows to Asia and the Pacific: Countercyclicality and Motivations to Remit," ADBI Working Papers 1315, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    6. Laurent Bossavie & Çağlar Özden, 2023. "Impacts of Temporary Migration on Development in Origin Countries," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 38(2), pages 249-294.
    7. Emilio Fernández Corugedo & Andres Gonzalez & Mr. Alejandro D Guerson, 2023. "The Macroeconomic Returns of Investment in Resilience to Natural Disasters under Climate Change: A DSGE Approach," IMF Working Papers 2023/138, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Ryota Nakatani, 2019. "A Possible Approach to Fiscal Rules in Small Islands — Incorporating Natural Disasters and Climate Change," IMF Working Papers 2019/186, International Monetary Fund.
    9. Éric Rougier & Nicolas Yol, 2019. "The volatility effect of diaspora's location," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(6), pages 1796-1827, June.
    10. Eric Hitimana & Gaurav Bajpai & Richard Musabe & Louis Sibomana & Jayavel Kayalvizhi, 2021. "Implementation of IoT Framework with Data Analysis Using Deep Learning Methods for Occupancy Prediction in a Building," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-19, March.
    11. Quy Ta & Yothin Jinjarak & Ilan Noy, 2022. "“How Do Shocks Affect International Reserves? A Quasi-Experiment of Earthquakes”," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 33(5), pages 945-971, November.
    12. Immaculate Machasio & Peter Tillmann, 2023. "Remittance flows and US monetary policy," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 159(3), pages 545-561, August.
    13. 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).
    14. 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.
    15. Laurent, Thibault & Margaretic, Paula & Thomas-Agnan, Christine, 2021. "Do neighboring countries matter when explaining bilateral remittances?," TSE Working Papers 21-1221, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    16. Immaculate Machasio & Peter Tillmann, 2021. "Remittance Flows and U.S. Monetary Policy," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202140, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    17. Fabrizio Ferriani & Andrea Gazzani & Filippo Natoli, 2023. "Flight to climatic safety: local natural disasters and global portfolio flows," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1420, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.

    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. Giulia Bettin & Andrea F. Presbitero & Nikola L. Spatafora, 2017. "Remittances and Vulnerability in Developing Countries," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 31(1), pages 1-23.
    2. Giulia Bettin & Amadou Jallow & Alberto Zazzaro, 2023. "How Do Monthly Remittances Respond To Natural Disasters In Migrants' Home Countries?," Mo.Fi.R. Working Papers 179, Money and Finance Research group (Mo.Fi.R.) - Univ. Politecnica Marche - Dept. Economic and Social Sciences.
    3. Ilham Haouas & Naceur Kheraief & Arusha Cooray & Syed Jawad Hussain Shahzad, 2019. "Time-Varying Casual Nexuses Between Remittances and Financial Development in Some MENA Countries," Working Papers 1294, Economic Research Forum, revised 2019.
    4. Eduardo Cavallo & Ilan Noy, 2009. "The Economics of Natural Disasters: A Survey," Research Department Publications 4649, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    5. Ercio Muñoz S. & Alfredo Pistelli M., 2010. "¿Tienen los Terremotos un Impacto Inflacionario en el Corto Plazo? Evidencia para una Muestra de Países," Notas de Investigación Journal Economía Chilena (The Chilean Economy), Central Bank of Chile, vol. 13(2), pages 113-127, April.
    6. Thomas K.J. McDermott & Frank Barry & Richard S.J. Tol, 2014. "Disasters and development: natural disasters, credit constraints, and economic growth," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 66(3), pages 750-773.
    7. Thomas K.J. McDermott, "undated". "Disasters and Development: Natural Disasters, Credit Constraints and Economic Growth," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp363, IIIS.
    8. Lazzaroni, Sara & van Bergeijk, Peter A.G., 2014. "Natural disasters' impact, factors of resilience and development: A meta-analysis of the macroeconomic literature," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 333-346.
    9. Jakhongir Kakhkharov & Nicholas Rohde, 2020. "Remittances and financial development in transition economies," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 731-763, August.
    10. Naqvi, Asjad, 2017. "Deep Impact: Geo-Simulations as a Policy Toolkit for Natural Disasters," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 395-418.
    11. Gloria Clarissa O. Dzeha, 2016. "The decipher, theory or empirics: a review of remittance studies," African Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(2), pages 113-134.
    12. Sawada, Yasuyuki & Takasaki, Yoshito, 2017. "Natural Disaster, Poverty, and Development: An Introduction," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 2-15.
    13. Peter Simonsen, 2012. "Earthquakes and Economic Growth," Development Research Working Paper Series 01/2012, Institute for Advanced Development Studies.
    14. Klomp, Jeroen, 2014. "Financial fragility and natural disasters: An empirical analysis," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 13(C), pages 180-192.
    15. Klomp, Jeroen, 2020. "Do natural disasters affect monetary policy? A quasi-experiment of earthquakes," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    16. Gignoux, Jérémie & Menéndez, Marta, 2016. "Benefit in the wake of disaster: Long-run effects of earthquakes on welfare in rural Indonesia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 26-44.
    17. Noy, Ilan & Vu, Tam Bang, 2010. "The economics of natural disasters in a developing country: The case of Vietnam," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 345-354, August.
    18. Subhani Keerthiratne & Richard S. J. Tol, 2017. "Impact of Natural Disasters on Financial Development," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 33-54, June.
    19. David Antonio C., 2011. "How do International Financial Flows to Developing Countries Respond to Natural Disasters?," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 11(4), pages 1-38, December.
    20. Couharde, Cécile & Generoso, Rémi, 2015. "The ambiguous role of remittances in West African countries facing climate variability," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(4), pages 493-515, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    migrants' remittances; international migration; natural disasters;
    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
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

    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:csl:devewp:393. 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: Chiara Elli (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/damilit.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.