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International Remittances and Intra-Household Risk-Sharing

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Abstract

A large body of research has established the importance of international remittances as an insurance mechanism against income shocks in developing countries. However, households have additional self-insurance mechanisms, including precautionary savings, labor supply adjustments, and multiple earners. This paper develops a model with heterogeneous two-member households and endogenous international remittances to study the relationship between remittances from overseas workers and other self-insurance mechanisms. I calibrate the model with data from the Dominican Republic, and then use the model to decompose the relative importance of the self-insurance mechanisms used by non-migrant households and households with overseas workers. I find that the response of household behavior (remittances, labor supply, and savings) differs greatly depending on whether the household is a migrant or non-migrant household and on whether the shock hits the overseas worker (usually male) or the left-behind family member (usually female). Allowing for correlated wage shocks within non-migrant households further highlights the insurance benefits of migration by reducing joint exposure to local shocks and altering the composition of self-insurance mechanisms.

Suggested Citation

  • Mota, Jose, 2025. "International Remittances and Intra-Household Risk-Sharing," MPRA Paper 126670, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:126670
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • F24 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Remittances
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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