Cover -- Title Page -- Contents -- Latin American Development Forum Series -- Other Titles in the Latin American Development Forum Series -- About the Contributors -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- 1 The Development Impact of Remittances in Latin America -- Introduction -- Remittances Trends and Their Distribution -- Migration Patterns and Remittances -- The Impact of Remittances on Poverty, Inequality, and Growth -- Remittances and Household Behavior -- Remittances and Financial Sector Development -- Remittances and the Real Exchange Rate -- Do Public Transfers Crowd Out Remittances? -- The Regulatory Framework: How to Facilitate Remittances Flows -- Policy Complementarities: What Can Policy Makers Do to Enhance the Development Impact of Remittances? -- Notes -- References -- 2 How Important Are Remittances in Latin America? -- Introduction -- The Magnitude of Remittances Flows: The Global Picture -- The Magnitude of Remittances Flows: The Regional Picture -- Profile of Recipients -- How Many Households Receive Remittances? -- Who Receives Remittances in Latin America? -- Remittances and Education -- How Important Are Remittances for Recipients? -- How Regressive is the Distribution of Remittances Income? -- How Reliable Are Remittances Figures? -- Conclusions -- Notes -- References -- 3 Migration and Remittances in Latin America: Patterns and Determinants -- Introduction -- Latin American Migrants Abroad -- Age Profile of Migration -- Education Profile -- The Brain Drain -- Labor Market Performance -- Migration and Remittances -- Determinants of Remittances -- Migrant population -- Migrant characteristics -- Financial market conditions in the receiving country -- Economic conditions in the receiving country -- Empirical Estimation -- Endogeneity -- Results.

Migration levels increase remittances to GDP and remittances per capita levels, and decrease remittances per migrant -- Increase in the overall education levels of migrants reduces remittances sent -- Economic growth in the recipient country increases remittances levels -- Financial development variables do not have a significant effect on remittances -- Share of female migrants has a significant negative effect on remittances flows -- Income per capita and size of the economy influence remittances flows -- Conclusions -- Annex B Estimation Results -- References -- 4 Do Remittances Lower Poverty Levels in Latin America? -- Introduction -- Remittances, Inequality, and Poverty: A Microeconomic Approach -- Inequality and Poverty Effects: Macroeconomic Evidence -- Remittances, Growth, and Investment -- Remittances and Output Volatility -- Conclusions -- Notes -- References -- 5 Remittances and Household Behavior: Evidence for Latin America -- Introduction -- Remittances and Household Savings -- Remittances and Household Expenditures -- Remittances and Human Capital -- Educational Attainment -- Health Outcomes -- Remittances and Labor Supply -- Conclusions -- Notes -- References -- 6 Do Remittances Affect Recipient Countries' Financial Development? -- Introduction -- Macro-Level Analysis of the Association between Remittances and Financial Development -- Basic Correlations -- Empirical Estimations -- Micro-Level Analysis of the Association between Remittances and Financial Development -- Evidence from Household-Level Tests -- Evidence from Two Case Studies: El Salvador and Mexico -- El Salvador -- Mexico -- Conclusions and Policy Recommendations -- Annex A: Remittances and Bancarization-The Experiences of Colombia and Guatemala -- The Colombian Experience -- The Guatemalan Experience.

Annex B: Tailoring Financial Products to the Needs of the Remittances Market -- Banco Solidario: Gaining market share through product adaptation -- Banco Salvadoreño: Reaching senders -- Banco Industrial: Tailoring credit to recipients -- Bansefi: Networking to reach economies of scale and underserved areas -- Peru: Mortgages for recipients -- Notes -- References -- 7 Remittances, the Real Exchange Rate, and the Dutch Disease Phenomenon -- Introduction -- Remittances and the Real Exchange Rate -- Theoretical Considerations -- What Do the Data Look Like? -- Empirical Strategy -- Empirical Model -- Econometric Issues -- Results -- Remittances and the Real Exchange Rate -- Remittances and Real Exchange Rate Misalignment -- Tax Structure and Competitiveness -- Conclusions -- Annex A -- External Equilibrium -- Internal Equilibrium -- Annex B -- Initial Benchmark Data: The 2002 Jamaica Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) -- Macro SAM -- Value added -- Taxes -- Intermediate and final demand -- International trade -- A Brief Description of the CGE Model -- Production -- Income distribution and absorption -- International trade -- Factor markets -- Model closures -- Notes -- References -- 8 Do Conditional Cash Transfer Programs Crowd Out Private Transfers? -- Introduction -- CCT Pilots in Honduras and Nicaragua and Their Evaluation Data -- The PRAF-II Program in Honduras -- The RPS in Nicaragua -- The Evaluation Data -- Do CCTs Crowd Out Remittances in Nicaragua and Honduras? Econometric Results -- Conclusions -- Annex A -- The Data -- The Empirical Strategy -- Notes -- References -- 9 Facilitating Remittances Flows and Security in the System -- Introduction: The Scope of Regulation of Remittances Services -- The Challenge of Regulation -- Organization of the Chapter -- Security Considerations in Remittances' Regulation -- Formalization of RSPs.

Formalization as a Regulatory Barrier to Entry -- The Role of Authorities -- Accessibility to Formal Remittances Services -- Regulatory Constraints to Accessibility at the Country of Origin12 -- Consumer Protection and Transparency in the Provision of Remittances Services -- Calculating the Total Price of Remittances -- Direct fees -- Exchange rate differential -- Float -- Authorities' Role in Enhancing Transparency in the Market -- Payments Systems and Their Role in Competition in Remittances Corridors -- The Role of Payments Systems in Facilitating Competition -- Multilateral Efforts to Create Cross-Border Settlement Systems -- Conclusions and Policy Recommendations -- Security -- Transparency -- Accessibility -- Competition -- Annex A. AML and CFT Regulations -- FATF Recommendations29 -- USA PATRIOT Act30 -- Reporting to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) -- Criminal Penalties -- Annex B. Legal Framework, Transparency, Oversight, and Cooperation in Payments Systems -- Scope of the Oversight Function -- Notes -- References -- 10 Remittances and Growth: The Role of Complementary Policies -- Introduction -- Policy Areas That May Complement Remittances -- Policy Complementarities and Education -- Policy Complementarities and Institutions -- Policy Complementarities and the Financial Sector -- Policy Complementarities and Macroeconomic Distortions -- Empirical Evidence -- Remittances, Human Capital, and Economic Growth -- Remittances, Institutions, and Economic Growth -- Remittances, Financial Depth, and Economic Growth -- Remittances, Macroeconomic Policy Environment, and Growth -- Remittances and Domestic Investment -- Concluding Remarks -- Notes -- References -- Index -- Back Cover.