Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Overview -- Abbreviations -- Chapter 1 Prospects for the Global Economy -- Global growth -- Long-term prospects and poverty forecast -- International finance -- Commodity markets -- World trade -- Risks and uncertainties -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 2 The Potential Gains from International Migration -- International migration trends -- The demographic challenge -- Migration and its development impact -- Returns to households -- Returns to factors of production -- Caveats-what the model leaves out -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 3 The Policy Challenges of Migration: The Origin Countries' Perspective -- The migration decision and its impact on migrants and their families -- Low-skilled migration -- High-skilled emigration -- Diasporas -- The return of expatriates can benefit development -- Temporary migration and international agreements -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 4 Trends, Determinants, and Macroeconomic Effects of Remittances -- Remittance data and trends -- Factors affecting remittance flows -- Macroeconomic effects of remittances -- Annex 4A.1 World Bank data on remittances -- Annex 4A.2 A model-based estimation of informal remittance flows -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 5 Remittances, Households, and Poverty -- Remittances, poverty, and inequality -- Remittances and household consumption smoothing -- Remittances and indirect effects on household income -- Remittances, savings, and investment -- Annex 5A.1 Poverty simulation model: description and results -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 6 Reducing Remittance Fees -- Remittance fees and costs -- Factors underpinning high remittance fees -- Policies to reduce remittance costs -- Remittances and financial institutions -- Annex 6A.1 A stylized remittance transaction-structure, players, instruments.

Annex 6A.2 Licensing and registration requirements for remittance service providers -- Annex 6A.3 A brief history of some remittance service providers -- Notes -- References -- Figures -- 1.1 Industrial production -- 1.2 A sharp slowdown -- 1.3 Regional growth -- 1.4 Dollar-euro interest rate differentials -- 1.5 Financing of the U.S. current account deficit -- 1.6 Emerging market spreads -- 1.7 Real long-term interest rates in G-7 countries -- 1.8 World savings rate -- 1.9 Inflation rates -- 1.10 Cumulative real increase in housing prices, 2005 -- 1.11 Commodity prices -- 1.12 Levels of spare oil capacity -- 1.13 World trade volumes -- 1.14 Change in textile exports to the developed world, first half of 2005 -- 1.15 Estimated change in textile exports as share of total merchandise exports -- 1.16 Some countries are particularly at risk -- 2.1 International migrants as a share of destination countries' population -- 2.2 Share of females in international migration -- 2.3 Immigration to selected countries, reasons for admittance, 2001 -- 2.4 Labor force and dependency rates -- 2.5 Factor returns and migration -- 2.6 Source of gains for native workers -- 2.7 Factor returns and migration in high-income countries, 2005 -- 3.1 Median wage levels for workers in the same occupation, relative to high-income economies, 1988-92 -- 3.2 Major developing country diasporas in developed countries -- 3.3 Estimates of stock of irregular migration -- 3.4 Emigration rates for low-skilled workers -- 3.5 Emigration rates for those with a tertiary education, 2000 -- 3.6 Number of temporary workers admitted under skill-based programs -- 4.1 Top 20 remittance-recipient countries, 2004 -- 4.2 Estimated remittance payment, by country group, 2004 -- 4.3 Remittances as percent of private consumption, two years before and two years after natural disasters.

4.4 Remittances as a share of personal consumption, two years before and two years after conflict -- 4.5 Remittances as a share of personal consumption, two years before and two years after financial crises -- 4.6 Indebtedness classification including and excluding remittances, 2003 -- 4.7 Remittance securitization structure -- 4.8 Securitization of remittances, 1994-2004 -- 5.1 Sri Lankan migration -- 6.1 Remittance costs are high and regressive -- 6.2 Remittance fees in the United States-Mexico corridor -- 6.3 Fees and foreign exchange spreads for 200 in Western Union transfers from New York City -- 6.4 Exclusive arrangements with post offices skew competition -- 6.5 Barriers perceived by remittance service providers -- Tables -- 1.1 The global outlook in summary -- 1.2 Long-term prospects -- 1.3 Regional breakdown of poverty in developing countries -- 1.4 Terms-of-trade impacts of commodity price changes -- 1.5 Impact of a 2 million bpd negative supply shock -- 1.6 Interest rate scenarios -- 2.1 Growth in international migration by destination, 1970-2000 -- 2.2 Labor force structure in the base case and after increases in migrants -- 2.3 Change in real income across households in 2025 relative to baseline -- 2.4 Real income impacts across developing regions -- 2.5 Impact of different assumptions on the consumption of public goods and services by selected groups in 2025 -- 3.1 Fees charged by recruitment agencies -- 3.2 Emigration rates of skilled workers, 2000 -- 4.1 Workers' remittances to developing countries, 1990-2005 -- 4.2 Recorded remittances have grown faster than private capital flows and ODA -- 4.3 Choice of remittance channel in selected countries -- 4.4 Estimated increase in formal remittances if transaction costs were reduced to 2 to 5 percent and dual exchange rates were eliminated.

4.5 Impact of remittances on country credit rating and sovereign spread -- 4A.1.1 Countries with alternative estimates in 2004 -- 4A.2.1 Regression results: determinants of worker remittances -- 4A.2.2 Regression results: determinants of transaction costs -- 4A.2.3 Panel regression results: determinants of remittances -- 5.1 Simulated impact of eliminating remittances on poverty rate -- 5A.1 Effect of removing remittances on the poverty headcount rate -- 6.1 Approximate cost of remitting 200 -- 6.2 Operating profits of major MTOs -- 6.3 Estimating the cost of a remittance transaction -- 6.4 Remittances are more cost-elastic when costs are higher -- 6.5 Policies to reduce costs, regulate informal providers, and provide remittance-linked financial services -- Boxes -- 2.1 The model used in this study -- 2.2 Calculating and interpreting global welfare gains from migration -- 2.3 The impact of immigrants on fiscal balances -- 2.4 Empirical studies of the impact of immigration on wages -- 2.5 Increased migration and its impact on wages -- 3.1 Internal versus international migration -- 3.2 Mode 4 and international migration -- 4.1 International working group on improving data on remittances -- 4.2 The recent surge in remittance flows to India -- 4.3 Collective remittances through hometown associations and matching schemes -- 4.4 Forced remittances -- 4.5 Unlike oil windfalls, remittance inflows do not weaken institutional capacity -- 5.1 Estimating a cross-country poverty change model -- 6.1 Decline in remittance costs in the United States-Mexico corridor -- 6.2 Estimating remittance industry costs -- 6.3 Even charitable donations are sensitive to cost -- 6.4 United States-Mexico FedACH -- 6.5 The World Bank/CPSS task force on general principles for international remittance systems -- 6.6 Smart's phone-based remittance system in the Philippines.