IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/psewpa/halshs-04721826.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Informal sector, remittances, and political stability: A study of Granger-causality in four large geopolitical sets

Author

Listed:
  • Mamadou Lah

    (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 nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - 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 nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Hadi Salameh

    (Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas)

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationships between remittances, the informal sector, and political stability across various large geopolitical sets, including the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Employing Granger causality tests to determine the predominate direction of causality and panel vector autoregressive models, we explore the dynamics of these relationships over short, medium, and long-term periods.Our findings reveal a significant short-term impact of remittances on the growth of the informal sector in the MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, suggesting that remittances directly influence economic activities within this sector, likely due to their use in undeclared activities and the funding of informal local businesses. However, the influence of remittances wanes over time, indicating their primary role in addressing immediate economic needs rather than fostering long-term sector growth. Political stability shows minimal direct causal interaction with the informal sector, hinting at the sector's role as an adaptive mechanism in politically volatile regions.In OECD countries, remittances maintain a persistent influence on the informal sector over longer periods, reflecting their role in more strategic economic decisions. Additionally, our study explores the complex dynamics in countries with high remittance-to-GDP ratios, identifying a strong predictive power of the informal sector size on remittance flows, which points to the sector's pivotal economic role. We have extended our analysis to OECD countries, using outward remittances as a proxy for inward migration. We found that the size of the informal sector can predict outward remittance flows and political stability, highlighting the crucial role of the informal economy in migration and political dynamics.The results underscore the need for region-specific policy interventions and highlight the importance of understanding the temporal dynamics of remittances. This study contributes to the discourse on economic development strategies, suggesting that leveraging remittances effectively requires comprehensive policy approaches that consider their varied impacts across different regional and economic contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Mamadou Lah & Hadi Salameh, 2024. "Informal sector, remittances, and political stability: A study of Granger-causality in four large geopolitical sets," PSE Working Papers halshs-04721826, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-04721826
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04721826v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04721826v1/document
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Helmut Lütkepohl, 2005. "New Introduction to Multiple Time Series Analysis," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-540-27752-1, March.
    2. Tanzi, Vito, 1999. "Uses and Abuses of Estimates of the Underground Economy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(456), pages 338-347, June.
    3. Chatterjee, Santanu & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 2018. "Remittances and the informal economy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 66-83.
    4. Dabla-Norris, Era & Gradstein, Mark & Inchauste, Gabriela, 2008. "What causes firms to hide output? The determinants of informality," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1-2), pages 1-27, February.
    5. Henri Njangang & Edmond Noubissi & Hilaire Nkengfack, 2018. "Do remittances increase the size of the informal economy in Sub-saharan African countries?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 38(4), pages 1997-2007.
    6. Andrews, Donald W. K. & Lu, Biao, 2001. "Consistent model and moment selection procedures for GMM estimation with application to dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 101(1), pages 123-164, March.
    7. Dominik H. Enste & Friedrich Schneider, 2000. "Shadow Economies: Size, Causes, and Consequences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 77-114, March.
    8. Hirotugu Akaike, 1969. "Fitting autoregressive models for prediction," Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Springer;The Institute of Statistical Mathematics, vol. 21(1), pages 243-247, December.
    9. Thanh Le, 2009. "Trade, Remittances, Institutions, and Economic Growth," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 391-408.
    10. Amaral, Pedro S. & Quintin, Erwan, 2006. "A competitive model of the informal sector," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(7), pages 1541-1553, October.
    11. Elbahnasawy, Nasr G. & Ellis, Michael A. & Adom, Assandé Désiré, 2016. "Political Instability and the Informal Economy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 31-42.
    12. Ihrig, Jane & Moe, Karine S., 2004. "Lurking in the shadows: the informal sector and government policy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 541-557, April.
    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. Carmen Camacho & Fabio Mariani & Luca Pensieroso, 2017. "Illegal immigration and the shadow economy," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 24(6), pages 1050-1080, December.
    2. Chletsos, Michael & Sintos, Andreas, 2021. "Hide and seek: IMF intervention and the shadow economy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 292-319.
    3. Henri Njangang & Luc Ndeffo Nembot & Joseph Pasky Ngameni, 2020. "Does financial development reduce the size of the informal economy in sub‐Saharan African countries?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(3), pages 375-391, September.
    4. Arbex, Marcelo, 2013. "Tax enforcement policies, tax evasion and time allocation," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 285-293.
    5. Marshall, Emily C. & Saunoris, James & Solis-Garcia, Mario & Do, Trang, 2023. "Measuring the size and dynamics of U.S. state-level shadow economies using a dynamic general equilibrium model with trends," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    6. Nedra Baklouti & Younes Boujelbene, 2020. "A simultaneous equation model of economic growth and shadow economy: Is there a difference between the developed and developing countries?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 151-170, February.
    7. Marã­A Paula Vargas & Erick Lahura, 2022. "Financial Development, Financial Inclusion And Informality: New International Evidence," Global Economy Journal (GEJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(03), pages 1-42, September.
    8. Ceyhun Elgin & Muhammed Burak Sezgin, 2017. "Sectoral Estimates of Informality: A New Method and Application for the Turkish Economy," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 55(4), pages 261-289, December.
    9. Mitra, Shalini, 2014. "Tax Evasion, Tax Policies and the Role Played by Financial Markets," MPRA Paper 58977, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Kameliia Petrova, 2016. "Entrepreneurship And The Informal Economy: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(02), pages 1-21, June.
    11. Santanu Chatterjee & Stephen J. Turnovsky, 2023. "Government expenditure and informality in an emerging economy: the recent experience of India," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 293-318, September.
    12. Schneider, Friedrich & Khan, Shabeer & Baharom Abdul Hamid & Khan, Abidullah, 2019. "Does the tax undermine the effect of remittances on shadow economy?," Economics Discussion Papers 2019-67, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    13. Gareth Liu-Evans & Shalini Mitra, 2023. "Formal sector enforcement and welfare," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 30(3), pages 706-728, June.
    14. Andrea Fracasso & Giuseppe Vittucci Marzetti & Diego Coletto, 2018. "Informal economy and extractive institutions," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 9(1).
    15. Santanu Chatterjee & Mark C. Kelly & Stephen J. Turnovsky, 2022. "Foreign aid, public investment, and the informal economy," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(1), pages 174-201, January.
    16. Gareth Liu-Evans & Shalini Mitra, 2020. "Formal sector enforcement and welfare," Working Papers 202030, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.
    17. Owolabi, Adegboyega O. & Berdiev, Aziz N. & Saunoris, James W., 2022. "Is the shadow economy procyclical or countercyclical over the business cycle? International evidence," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 257-270.
    18. Luigi Bonaventura, 2011. "Enforcement of regulation, irregular sector, and firm performance: a computational agent-based model," Netnomics, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 99-113, July.
    19. Kpognon, Koffi D., 2022. "Fostering domestic resources mobilization in sub-Saharan Africa: Linking natural resources and ICT infrastructure to the size of informal economy," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    20. Elena D’Agostino & Marco Alberto De Benedetto & Giuseppe Sobbrio, 2023. "Does the economic freedom hinder the underground economy? Evidence from a cross-country analysis," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 40(1), pages 319-341, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Informal sector; Remittances; Political stability; Granger causality; PVAR model; Migration; Secteur informel; Envois de fonds; Stabilité politique; Causalité de Granger; Modèle PVAR;
    All these keywords.

    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:hal:psewpa:halshs-04721826. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.