GENEVA, 17 February 2011: Money sent home by economic migrants working in foreign countries exceeded 300 billion US dollar in 2010, and this vast and growing tide of income needs to be safeguarded and channelled so that it does the most good for families and economies in the world´s poor nations, experts said at a two-day UNCTAD meeting on 14-15 February.
More can be done to ensure that families and developing-nation economies derive lasting benefit from these wages earned overseas, speakers said.
They stressed that less of this money should be lost in transmission, and more should be invested in the stable, broad-based social and economic growth of economies that originally were weak enough for citizens to feel compelled to leave and work elsewhere.
– Remittances account for about 2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of all developing countries, and for higher percentages in many, UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Mr. Petko Draganov said.
– In Lesotho, Nepal, Samoa, Haiti and Bangladesh, these money transfers make up more than 8 per cent of GDP. Although the effects across countries are varied, remittances have reduced poverty at the household level in many developing countries.
– A recent UNCTAD study found that in countries where remittances make up 5 per cent or more of GDP, on average a 10 per cent rise in remittances leads to a reduction of 3,9 per cent in the poverty headcount ratio, Mr. Draganov noted – se også http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/ditctncd20108_en.pdf
– Evidence shows that a significant amount of remittance transfers to developing countries is spent on household consumption and human capital, added he..
Such emphasis on food, education, housing, health and related purchases can ripple outwards through the domestic economies of poor nations and – if managed well – can create jobs and business opportunities that raise living standards and keep future potential migrants at home.
However, Mr. Draganov and others added that the costs of sending money from overseas could be high – the current average fee was around 8,7 per cent – and that there was “still a lack of safe, reliable, accessible transfer systems for remittances”.
– For some countries, excessive margins (of fees) are charged, he said.
Kilde: www.unctad.org
