Economía

Lopez Cordova, J. Ernesto.
Globalization, Migration, and Development: The Role of Mexican Migrant Remittances
Economía - Volume 6, Number 1, Fall 2005, pp. 217-256

Brookings Institution Press

J. Ernesto Lopez Cordova - Globalization, Migration, and Development: The Role of Mexican Migrant Remittances - Economa 6:1 Economa 6.1 (2005) 217-256 Globalization, Migration, and Development: The Role of Mexican Migrant Remittances Ernesto López-Córdova [Comments] Ongoing debates on the merits and shortcomings of globalization mainly focus on the consequences of increased capital and goods flows for economic development. Until recently, international migration has received relatively little attention in such discussions. This is somewhat surprising, since accounts of the first wave of globalization, toward the end of the nineteenth century, highlight the impressive movements of people around the world. In part, the oversight reflects the paucity of reliable data on migration. This paper contributes toward filling this gap. It explores whether the movement of people across borders fosters development, just as capital and trade flows might do. In particular, the paper focuses on the role played by migrants' remittances to families in their countries of origin. The magnitude of remittance flows is substantial. For instance, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) uses careful household surveys to measure remittance flows to Latin America and the Caribbean. The results indicate that these exceeded U.S.$45 billion in 2004, which is more than the combined flows of foreign direct investment and development assistance. The region is thus the largest...