Migrant Networks, Food Remittances, and Zimbabweans in Cape Town: A Social Media Perspective

This study examines the evolving connection between migrant networking on social media and cross-border food remittances in Southern Africa. Emerging research and academic debates have shown that social media platforms transform migration networks. But the role and link between migrant remittances and social media are generally overlooked and neglected. This paper contributes to the ongoing debates by examining the role of social media as a valuable networking tool for food-remitting Zimbabwean migrants. The research is founded on a mixed-methods approach, thus utilizing both questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town, South Africa. The research findings uncover the role of social media in facilitating a regular flow of food remittances back to urban and rural areas of Zimbabwe. A related result is how social media enabled information pathways associated with cross-border food remitting when the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions limited face-to-face contact. This research can provide valuable insights for academics, researchers, and development practitioners interested in the evolving migration, remittances, and food security nexus in the global South. © 2023, University of the Western Cape. All rights reserved.

Effect of Remittance Inflows on External Debt in Developing Countries

This paper analyzes the effect of remittance inflows on external debt in developing countries, by identifying international reserves as a potential transmission channel. Using panel data over the period 1970–2017 and covering 50 low-and middle-income countries worldwide, we find a positive and significant effect of remittance inflows on the external debt-to-GDP ratio. We also find a negative and significant effect of international reserves on external debt. After controlling for international reserves, the effect of remittance inflows on external debt increases;it remains positive and significant. The results suggest that the role of international reserves as a self-insurance mechanism, and the Dutch disease effect related to remittance inflows are at play. In addition, we find negative and significant effects of economic growth and savings-investment gap on external debt. We also find positive and significant effects of the nominal exchange rate and the United States lending interest rate on external debt. We discuss the policy implications of these findings, while highlighting factors that policymakers should focus on for containing external debt in developing countries in the post-COVID-19.

Tourism and economic growth in the Pacific region: evidence from five small island economies

We present a country-specific analysis on the effect of tourism on the economic growth of five small Pacific Island Countries (PICs) – Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. The results show tourism development is growth-enhancing for all five countries. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is growth-enhancing for Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and in the short run, a delayed negative association for Fiji and Vanuatu is found. Remittances are growth-retarding for Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, with a short-run delayed positive association for Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. Financial development is growth-retarding for Solomon Islands and Tonga, with a short-run positive association for Fiji and Samoa. While the results underscore the huge importance of tourism in generating growth and FDI in the Pacific, given the ongoing adverse effects of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, PICs will have to focus on alternative sectors to progress economic activities. Policy suggestions are discussed along these lines. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Trade-based money laundering and informal remittance services: implications on the sustainability of the balance of payments of a small open economy

PurposeThis study aims to discuss the consequences of trade-based money laundering (TBML) and informal remittance services on the sustainability of the position of balance of payments and net foreign assets of a small open economy.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a case study design using facts related to TBML and informal remittance services on the balance of payment and net foreign assets of Sri Lanka.FindingsThe contextual analysis reveals that the growth of the informal economy promotes informal remittance services in Sri Lanka. The policy decision to peg local currency to US dollars as a result of a shortage of foreign exchange had forced people to use informal channels for different purposes. The unclear and vague customer due diligence process of the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime also has forced people to use informal remittance services. Criminals especially drug traffickers have grabbed the promoted informal remittance services to transfer proceeds from Sri Lanka to overseas drug suppliers. On the other hand, systematic deficiencies in monitoring and regulation of movement of fund transfers and merchandise across borders provide opportunities for criminals to use different TBML techniques to transfer funds. These limitations force policymakers and regulators to think of developing a comprehensive payment ecosystem to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. Therefore, the global initiative is required to move towards a payment ecosystem from a recommendation-based AML/CFT regime to reduce global crimes.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was designed to discuss the implications of TBML and informal remittance services on the balance of payments and net foreign assets in a small open economy. The structure and size of the economy, the strength of the overall economy and the AML/CFT regime will play an important role in controlling criminal activities and combating money laundering of an economy;hence, the impact of TBML and informal remittance services will vary accordingly across the countriesOriginality/valueThis paper is an original work done by the authors, which discusses the implications of TBML and informal remittance services on the balance of payments and net foreign assets of an emerging market context.

Private transfers, public transfers, and food insecurity during the time of COVID-19: Evidence from Bangladesh

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, interest has grown in what kinds of assistance protect household food security during shocks. We study rural and urban Bangladesh from 2018 to 2019 to late 2021, assessing how pre-pandemic access to social safety net programs and private remittances relate to household food insecurity during the pandemic. Using longitudinal data and estimating differences-in-differences models with household fixed effects, we find that pre-pandemic access to social protection is associated with significant reductions in food insecurity in all rounds collected during the pandemic, particularly in our urban sample. However, pre-pandemic access to remittances shows no similar protective effect.

Sending Money Home in Conflict Settings: Revisiting Migrant Remittances

Despite the challenges, remittances frequently remain a primary source of economic support for those left behind, as well as for national development of post-conflict countries. [...]situations in the wake of recent conflicts are known for heightened remittance flows.3 As a large share of the remittance flows in conflict settings occurs through informal channels, the importance of remittances in these economies has often been underestimated. A focus on broader settings that can provide security, justice, and economic sustenance to individuals and communities affected by the crisis has been reflected in the human security approach6 to post-conflict7 development.8 Remittances can be central to fighting poverty—by diversifying household income sources, providing capital for productive investment and facilitating local markets, and funding education, health, and other social expenses.9 Remittances can contribute to post-conflict recovery in the long term. "20 Horst has shown that among the Somali diaspora in Norway, most political engagements do not occur through state institutions but take place on sub-national levels, including individual and group money transfers and certain humanitarian initiatives.21 Somali diaspora members mediate with clan leaders and elders who can contribute to reconciliation processes through customary mechanisms such as compensatory payments, but as noted above, such involvement can also sustain continued warfare.22 While the role of diaspora in post-conflict reconstruction efforts can be significant, diaspora can also remain an "under-utilized resource" whose strong emotional connection to their home country is offset by unstable institutional environments.23 Weak formal institutions and regulatory frameworks may offer little systematic support for entrepreneurship development, which is constrained by high transaction and compliance costs. Informal institutions and cultural attitudes remain important in the post-conflict assimilation of returning migrants who bring with them beliefs and understandings from their countries of settlement, resulting in hybrid norms and institutions.24 Many forcibly displaced and returning migrants may also lack properly transferable professional skills.25 The transfer of social and political remittances does not always signify "diffusion of democracy"—the effects of returning migrants to democratization depend on their experience of political mobilization as migrant workers, as well as on the status of democratic values in the political order of the host country, among other factors.26 Changing perspectives on conflict-affected remittances Remittances became central in the migration scholarship only in the 1990s, when the analytical focus shifted from migration as a result of [End Page 44] decision-making of rational individuals towards a more nuanced view of the role of households, social networks, and community in migration processes.

Our ‘Pacific family'. Heroes, guests, workers or a precariat?

Australia launched a Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) in 2012, shortly after a similar scheme in New Zealand, to bring seasonal workers from Pacific Island Countries (PICS) to work in agriculture. The scheme was seen as a potential ‘Triple Win' with sending and receiving countries, and workers' households, benefiting. Workers' remittances contributed to welfare, especially housing and education, and small business establishment, but there were social costs associated with repeated absences. In 2018, Australia introduced the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) to extend guestwork opportunities into other areas of non-seasonal labour shortage such as aged care, tourism and meat processing. The shortage of local labour during COVID-19 demonstrated that Pacific guestworkers were invaluable to Australia, and in 2022 the schemes were revamped and expanded further as the PALM (Pacific Australia Labour Mobility) Scheme. Concern over a Chinese threat in the region gave further support for the expansion. PICs expressed concerns about exploitative practices, while higher rates of participation increased the potential for an incipient brain drain from the PICs, with wages roughly four times those at home, as migrants now left non-agricultural jobs. The expanded scheme continues to favour Australian employers leaving questions over, equity, uneven development and the future of the PICs.

Second generation diaspora: pandemic, development and connection

The new millennium has seen a proliferation of scholarship and research addressing the relationship between diaspora and development. Conventionally, it is assumed that the second generation in the diaspora experiences a diminishing attachment to their countries of origin. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, diasporas have been at the forefront of supporting their communities at home and abroad. In this article, we examine the contribution of the second-generation diaspora to the country of origin in South Asia to provide comparative insights across time, countries, and types of crises. We examine the transnational framework in the context of ‘diaspora' and ‘engagement during the pandemic,' drawing on transnational scholarship. This provides an opportunity to examine the means, motivations, and agency of diaspora members – and their descendants – in transnational activities with a clear development objective. The study offers actionable recommendations for better-leveraging diaspora contributions in times of crisis. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of South Asian Diaspora is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Higher inequality in Latin America: a collateral effect of the pandemic

This study explores the evolution of inequality in Latin America during the COVID-19 pandemic by using primary data from household and employment surveys collected in 2020. First, we discuss the trends in inequality in the region from 1992 to 2020. Next, we estimate regression models to examine how the changes in demographics and education levels might be correlated with changes in income distribution. Finally, we use a panel regression model with fixed effects for 16 countries in the region to identify how the socioeconomic context might help explain the changes in income inequality. The empirical findings suggest that inequality increased by a statistically significant 2% between 2019 and 2020. We obtained significantly heterogeneous results when disaggregating by gender, urban/rural location, and sector of economic activity. Remittances had a modest effect, while government transfers helped to prevent more significant disparities in half the countries studied. Our estimations show that the decline in employment levels–due to the economic contraction caused by COVID-19— is associated with increases in income inequality that might gradually diminish with the recovery. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Effect of Remittance-Sending Countries' Type on Financial Development in Recipient Countries: Can the Pandemic Make a Difference?

This study examines the effect of remittances on selected recipient countries' financial development. Using weights for bilateral remittances from 1990 to 2015, this study calculates the weighted gross national income per capita of remittance-sending countries. This study then uses the weighted gross national income as an instrument to address the endogeneity between remittance and financial development. Using the instrument variable (IV) model, this study finds that remittances from low-skilled migrant-abundant sending countries have different effects than the highly skilled labor-abundant sending countries. Assuming the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as a source of low-skilled and the Group of Seven (G7) as the source of high-skilled labor-abundant sending countries, remittance from relatively low-skilled emigrants has a greater impact on financial inclusion in the recipient countries than their high-skilled counterparts. In contrast, remittance from high-skilled countries has a greater impact on the development of the stock market. Similar types of effects of remittance on financial development have also been observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results suggest that policymakers should provide better foreign employment opportunities and improved transaction and investment policies in the home financial markets.

COVID-19 and remittances to Mexican states

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative effect on economic activity, a decrease in remittances was expected. However, on the contrary, remittances have increased in countries like Mexico. Using a fixed-effect model with information at the state level, this study finds evidence that the increase in COVID-19 cases was associated with a higher level of remittances to Mexican states, allowing some degree of insurance against the pandemic. However, remittances did not respond to the decrease in employment caused by the pandemic in local economies. A portion of the observed increases in remittances during the pandemic can be explained by factors at the national level. © 2023, Oviedo University Press. All rights reserved.

Defying the Odds: Remittances during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper provides an early assessment of the dynamics and drivers of remittances during the COVID-19 pandemic, using a newly compiled monthly remittance dataset for a sample of 52 countries, of which 16 countries have bilateral remittance data. The paper documents a strong resilience in remittance flows, notwithstanding an unprecedent global recession triggered by the pandemic. Using the local projection approach to estimate the impulse response functions of remittance flows during January 2020–December 2020, the paper provides evidence that: (i) remittances responded positively to COVID-19 infection rates in migrant home countries, underscoring its role as an important automatic stabilizer;(ii) stricter containment measures have the unintended consequence of dampening remittances;and (iii) a shift from informal to formal remittance channels due to travel restrictions appears to have also played a role in the surge in formal remittances. Lastly, the size of the fiscal stimulus in the host country is positively associated with remittance flows to migrants' home country as the fiscal response cushioned the economic impact of the pandemic. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Development Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Rural Entrepreneurship as a Sustainable Livelihood Alternative for the Returnee Migrants: Reviewing the Potentials and Challenges

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the earnings of migrant workers decreased due to joblessness and the lack of new work. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to look at the potential of rural entrepreneurship as a form of financially managing the insecurity and vulnerabilities caused by the pandemic. The literature review shows that although international migration has played a crucial role in economic growth in Bangladesh, remittance has been underutilized and not translated into investment usually. The qualitative research methodology of the paper followed the thematic analysis design method to apprehend and explain the research findings. The findings of the study indicate that despite several challenges, rural entrepreneurship can indeed be a sustainable livelihood alternative that improves the resilience of returnee migrants. The right kinds of skillsets and adequate measures to tackle the infrastructural and socio-political barriers can boost rural entrepreneurship appreciably. Other recently published research works also highlight that entrepreneurship can be an effective tool for the reintegration of returnee migrants. This paper concludes that the sustainability of rural entrepreneurship will require engaging local development organizations, forming incubation and support centers, and organizing peer support groups.

Financial Inclusion or Encampment? Rethinking Digital Finance for Refugees

Humanitarian actors touting financial inclusion posit that access to financial services builds refugees' resilience and self-reliance. They claim that new digital financial tools create more efficient and dignified pathways for humanitarian assistance and enable refugees to better manage their savings and invest in livelihoods, especially during protracted displacement. Our in-depth, repeat interviews with refugees in Kenya and Jordan refute this narrative. Instead, self-reliance was hindered primarily by refugees' lack of foundational rights to move and work. Financial services had limited ability to support livelihoods in the absence of those rights. The digital financial services offered to refugees under the banner of ‘financial inclusion' were not mainstream services designed to empower and connect. Instead, they were segregated, second-class offerings meant to further isolate and limit refugee transactions in line with broader political desires to encamp and exclude them. The article raises questions about the circumstances in which humanitarian funding ought to fund financial service interventions and what those interventions are capable of achieving.

Diaspora in Humanitarian Action: Analysing the Indian Diaspora's Humanitarian Potential and Efforts for ‘Mother India'

Humanitarian action is commonly thought to involve two types of aid providers: international and local actors. But this tends to ignore a third humanitarian domain, namely transnational humanitarianism during conflicts, global epidemics and natural disasters by diaspora individuals and organisations. These transnational connections, which involve the mobility of people, goods and money, significantly change the context in which global humanitarian actors function and may have notable secondary effects on other aid providers. We contend that the significance of diaspora humanitarianism during natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic has still not been thoroughly explored in the academic literature and remains relatively ‘invisible' in aid practices and policies. This article arises from an empirical study on the significance of diaspora in humanitarian action by analysing the impact of diaspora remittances and organisations that have emerged as an important potential for diasporas during humanitarian action. To examine the potential and role of the diaspora in humanitarian action, this article makes the case for the Indian diaspora's humanitarian potential and efforts, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of India Quarterly is the property of Sage India and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Approaches to Occupational Mobility under the Conditions of the Current Economic Crisis

The objectives of economic development in the modern world demand new approaches in the study, analysis and research of social aspects, labour markets and local and regional economic development in the context of the new transformations, the multiple crises that humanity is going through today. For the labour market, the geographical approach opens up the lens of analysis, formulation of priorities and the development of new methodologies that will help us build new theories and policies of local and regional economic development, the development of a labour market through the prism of economic geography. This approach will allow us to analyse the migration processes of occupational mobility and to develop viable policies and measures to create new jobs and ensure sustainable, smart and inclusive economic growth.

Intergenerational Kinship Networks of Support Within Transnational Families in the era of COVID-19 in the South Africa–Zimbabwe Migration Corridor

Intergenerational support is a common cultural expectation and obligation in most African families. It is a form of reciprocal solidarity wherein a generation uses its privileges to assist a generation in need. This is typical of care and support relationships between parents and their children. As parents care and provide for their children, the unspoken expectation is that they are investing as their children will be obliged to take care of them in the future. In Zimbabwe, the obligations of this social contract have led many to migrate to other countries in search of economic opportunities. However, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant economic hardships, these reciprocal relationships have been negatively impacted. This paper assesses the impact of COVID-19 and the economic difficulties faced by migrants in South Africa, drawing from the life histories of dyads of five parents and five adult children. It explores how the governance systems implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and the precarity of transnational migrants in South Africa affected intergenerational material support within transnational families. Findings reveal that the pandemic significantly affected intergenerational support within transnational families. The restrictive measures crafted to curb the spread of the pandemic led to notable adaptations in the provision of parental support by migrant children in South Africa. Parental support went beyond reciprocity and altruism, exhibiting a profound moral value embedded in the moral economy perspective, where children remain committed to providing support to their parents despite the economic struggles presented by the pandemic. © 2023 South African Sociological Association.

COVID in the islands: A comparative perspective on the Caribbean and the Pacific

Bratt reviews COVID in the islands: A comparative perspective on the Caribbean and the Pacific edited by Yonique Campbell and John Connell.

Estimating the Impact of Selected Macroeconomic Indicators on Remittance Inflows in the Philippines

As economic activities came to a standstill during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines, like many economies across the globe, experienced rising inflation, currency depreciation and fluctuating capital markets. To manage these variables and stabilize the macroeconomy, the central bank resorted to monetary tightening. In the Philippines, a key mechanism that contributes to this stabilizing effect rests on remittances that have been cushioning the economy from the effects of volatilities and uncertainties in the global economy. During economic downturns and reduced capital flows, remittances provide support not only to recipient households but also to the country's financial sector. Using time series analysis, we estimate the response of remittance inflows on impulses from selected macroeconomic variables, namely interest rate, inflation rate and exchange rate. A common characteristic shared by the selected indicators is their influence on recipient households' consumption-related decision-making process. These findings warrant the need to redesign major institutional policies to manage remittances in light of their anticipated feedback effect on the economy. © 2022 ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute.

Remittances as a Vital Tool for Economic and Human Security in Latin America 1

While a wide range of extensive literature deal with migration as a security concern, much less attention is aimed at migrant remittances regarding security. However, vulnerable communities in developing regions such as Latin America tend to rely upon the sum of money received from migrants working abroad. In the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has again become apparent that migrant related monetary remittances play a vital role in disaster relief. In this paper it is argued that remittances have been a crucial tool for economic and human security in Latin America especially during the pandemic. Examining primary and secondary statistical sources, the analysis also tries to find explanations for the resilience and increasing volume of cross-border remittances with regard to the Latin American region, exceeding earlier estimates to a great extent.