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Determinants of Remittances: Recent Evidence Using Data on Internal Migrants in Vietnam *
Author(s) -
Niimi Yoko,
Pham Thai Hung,
Reilly Barry
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
asian economic journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.345
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1467-8381
pISSN - 1351-3958
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8381.2009.02000.x
Subject(s) - remittance , earnings , vulnerability (computing) , economics , internal migration , demographic economics , survey data collection , coping (psychology) , labour economics , development economics , developing country , economic growth , finance , psychology , statistics , computer security , mathematics , psychiatry , computer science
The present paper examines the determinants of remittance behavior for Vietnam using data from the 2004 Vietnam Migration Survey on internal migrants. It considers how, among other things, the vulnerability of a migrant's life at the destination, their link to relatives back home, and the time spent at the destination affect remittances. The paper finds that migrants act as risk‐averse economic agents and send remittances back to the household of origin as part of an insurance exercise in the face of economic uncertainty. Remittances are also found to be driven by a migrant's labor market earnings level. The paper highlights the important role of remittances in providing an effective means of risk‐coping and mutual support within the family.