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"To Have and Have Not": Migration, Remittances, Poverty and Inequality in Algeria

Author

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  • David Margolis

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, IZA - Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit - Institute of Labor Economics)

  • Luis Miotti

    (CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord (ancienne affiliation) - UP13 - Université Paris 13 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • El Mouhoub Mouhoud

    (LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres, Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres)

  • Joël Oudinet

    (CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord (ancienne affiliation) - UP13 - Université Paris 13 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This article analyses the distributional impact of remittances across two regions of Algerian emigration (Nedroma and Idjeur) using an original survey we conducted of 1,200 households in 2011. Remittances and especially the role played by foreign pensions decrease the Gini index by nearly 4 % for the two Algerian regions, with the effect in Idjeur being twice as large as Nedroma. At the same time, they help reduce poverty by nearly 13 percentage points. Remittances have a strong positive impact on very poor families in Idjeur but much less in Nedroma, where poor families suffer from a "double loss" due to the absence of their migrants and the fact that the latter do not send money home.

Suggested Citation

  • David Margolis & Luis Miotti & El Mouhoub Mouhoud & Joël Oudinet, 2013. ""To Have and Have Not": Migration, Remittances, Poverty and Inequality in Algeria," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-00907035, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-00907035
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-00907035
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    Cited by:

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    2. Anda David & Joachim Jarreau, 2015. "Short and Long-Term Impacts of Emigration on Origin Households: The Case of Egypt," Working Papers 977, Economic Research Forum, revised Dec 2015.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Migration; Inequality; Algeria; Remittances; Poverty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F24 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Remittances
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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