Immigrant Remittances

Abstract

Remittances, the sending of money from immigrants back to their home countries, are the newest anti-poverty, development activity of the poor to be applauded by international institutions and economists. Exceeding foreign aid and private investment to many developing countries, remittances are being hailed as a new, untapped resource with powerful poverty alleviation and potential development attributes. After presenting the poverty, developmental, and economic characteristics of this new transnational connection between immigrants and their loved ones, as well as the dangerous effects of excessive remittance regulation, this Article argues that remittances should be understood as an anti-poverty tool, but not as a route to development.

Keywords: Remittances, Latin America, Development, Poverty, Law and Development, Microcredit, Land-titling