Business Cycles and Workers' Remittances: How Do Migrant Workers Respond to Cyclical Movements of GDP at Home?

21 Pages Posted: 23 Mar 2006

See all articles by Serdar Sayan

Serdar Sayan

Bilkent University; Ohio State University

Date Written: February 2006

Abstract

Workers' remittances are often argued to have a tendency to move countercyclically with the GDP in recipient countries since migrant workers are expected to remit more during down cycles of economic activity back home. Yet, how much to remit is a complex decision involving other factors, and different variables driving remittance behavior are differently affected by the state of economic activity over the business cycle. This paper investigates the behavior of workers' remittances flows into 12 developing countries over their respective business cycles during 1976-2003 and finds that countercyclicality of receipts is not commonly observed across these countries.

Keywords: workers' remittances, business cycles, consumption vs. investment motive

JEL Classification: E32, F22, F49, J61

Suggested Citation

Sayan, Serdar, Business Cycles and Workers' Remittances: How Do Migrant Workers Respond to Cyclical Movements of GDP at Home? (February 2006). IMF Working Paper No. 06/52, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=892943

Serdar Sayan (Contact Author)

Bilkent University ( email )

Department of Economics
Bilkent University
Bilkent, Ankara 06800
Turkey
(90-312) 290-2071 (Phone)
(90-312) 266-5140 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/~sayan

Ohio State University ( email )

Department of AED Econ
2120 Fyffe Road
Columbus, OH 43210-1067
United States
(614) 893-1949 (Phone)
(614) 292-4749 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.aede.osu.edu/people/display2.php?user=sayan.1

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