Socioeconomic impact of remittance: an analysis of household level data from Bangladesh

Abstract

Economic globalization contributes not only to advancing commodity trade but it has also brought a major shift in the flow of workers from labour abundant to labour scarce nations. According to the UN, transnational migrants (persons working outside their country of birth) constituted approximately 232 million in 2013 from all over the world (Baruah 2014). Almost one-third of these migrants originate from Asian developing nations. The destinations of the overwhelming majority of Asian migrants are Middle Eastern countries (Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC countries), Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand) and East Asia (South Korea). Over the past three decades, three major migration flows have developed within Asia: from South Asia and Southeast Asia to GCC countries; flows within the ASEAN region; and from Southeast Asia to East Asia. The World Bank estimates that there were six Asian countries among the top ten remittance-receiving countries of the world in 2013 (World Bank 2014). The GCC countries received almost 3.5 million workers from South Asia and Southeast Asian nations in 2012. Among them, five nations (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines) sent more than half a million each. Nepal alone sent approximately 1.5 million. Almost half a million workers migrated overseas from Bangladesh in 2012.