Gendering Migrant Remittances: Evidence from Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (original) (raw)
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Migrant women and remittances: Exploring the data from selected countries
UN Women Policy Brief, 2020
A growing body of work has analyzed the relationship between gender and remittances, but very little is known about the comparative value of the remittances sent by migrant women and men. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are the main sources of data and statistics on remittances, but these are not disaggregated by the sender's sex. This policy brief is unique in its analysis of data from 11 national household surveys that contain information on remittances received by households and on the senders. The research suggests that the characteristics of migrant women's remittances may be more nuanced than previously thought, with substantial variations across countries in the proportion of remittances sent by women. Importantly, this research found that while women typically earn less than men and pay more in transfer fees, the average remittance amounts they send are the same as or even greater than those of men. Therefore, the higher average remittance amounts sent by women implies that they tend to remit a larger portion of their earnings than men. The research also showed that women tend to rely more on in-person cash transfer services than do men. When these services become unavailable – as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic – this poses significant barriers for migrant women to send remittances.
International Journal of Management Sciences and Business Research, 2014
This paper analysed the effect of gender differences of household head amongst 10 villages on the remittance determinants and their socioeconomic impacts of remittance receiving households in rural Bangladesh. Using micro economic data from a survey conducted in 2013, multivariate analysis was carried out on 300 rural households. The empirical findings provided that the remittance determinants (migrant age, marital status and number of visit; household head age, marital status, level of education and employment status) and impacts (saving and investment patterns; determinants: age of migrant, number of visit by the migrant, marital status of the migrant, age and education of household head) vary from male to female household head at the same community level of the households. The study suggest that the strong gender differences in the remittance behaviour of Bangladeshi households and highlight the importance of differentiating with respect to gender background when analysing the determinants of remittances.
Maximizing the Development Impacts of Remittances in Bangladesh: A Gender Perspective
Journal of economics and sustainable development, 2017
Remittances have been contributing to the economic development of rural Bangladesh as thousands of poor unskilled workers are remitting money from abroad over the years. Recent migration of female workers to the Middle East countries has added a new dimension in this area since the female migrant workers are vulnerable to wage discrimination and unfavorable working environment in those countries. This study examines the relationship between remittances and economic growth in Bangladesh over a horizon of 40 years (1976-2015), and analyzes the female worker’s migration data from 1991 to 2016 to see whether any wage disparity exists between male and female workers in the four Middle East countries: United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Lebanon, Jordan. The study finds that remittance inflow has positive impacts on economic growth of Bangladesh in the long-run while in the short run remittance does not cause Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rather GDP causes remittances...
Gender and Remittances: The case of the Philippines
Paper presented to the Oxfam Novib Expert Meeting on Gender and Remittances. Co-authored by Marieke Smit. In this study of the households of migrants living in Cebu City, we observed trends aligning with the two forms of migration, namely whether the husband/father or the wife/mother migrates. The former has the least effect on a household and its relations. Family members take over tasks when a man goes abroad, especially their wives, although the husband retains his role as main breadwinner. Male migration stimulates women to maintain their traditional roles as housewives, since the salary of the men increases by the migration and there is little need for additional income from the female spouses. Since the role of the women to be a mother and/or “plain housewife” is still favored by society (with much influence of the Catholic Church), this can be maintained when the income of the husband is sufficient to support this situation. Most men decide the amount of remittances that is send to their families back home, and in many cases, their spouses are not even familiar with the total salary. The large majority of women were not externally employed and they totally depend on the husband’s foreign salary. Many women revealed their wish for a different career than being a full-time housewife, however the preference of their husband holds greater weight in this decision-making process. Within the household, the negotiation process does not change after migration, especially regarding expenditures. It is sometimes argued in the literature that remittances can lead to extra empowerment of women because of its opportunity for investment or greater freedom of spending. This conclusion cannot be found from this research. The extra burdens that come with migration do not outweigh the extra incomes. This evidence provides the conclusion that male migration reaffirms traditional gender roles and dynamics. Suggested citation: Gresham, P.B., & Smit, M. (2011, 29–30 September). Gender and Remittances: The case of the Philippines. In T. v. Naerssen (Ed.), Oxfam Novib Expert Meeting on Gender and Remittances. The Hague.