Cover -- Title Page -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations and Acronyms -- Executive Summary -- The Development Impact of Remittances -- The Public Infrastructure for Remittances -- Formal Financial Institutions -- State Banks -- Foreign Banks -- Local Banks -- Money Service Businesses -- Post Offices -- Informal Financial Institutions -- Conclusion and Recommendations -- Notes -- 1 International Remittances: Impact, Policy, and Costs -- Introduction -- The Impact of International Remittances on Poverty and Economic Development -- The Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Public Infrastructure for Remittances -- The High Transaction Costs Associated with Remittances through Formal Financial Institutions -- The Level of Transparency and Accountability in the Informal Remittance Industry -- Notes -- 2 The Development Impact of Remittances -- Introduction -- Analyzing the Impact of International Remittances -- A New Dataset on International Remittances and Poverty -- Official International Remittances and Poverty: Econometric Results -- Estimating Unofficial Remittances: Simulation Functions -- Official and Unofficial Remittances and Poverty -- Remittances, Investment, and Economic Development -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 3 Public Infrastructure for Remittances -- Introduction -- Bangladesh -- India -- Pakistan -- Sri Lanka -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 4 Formal Financial Sector Infrastructure for Remittances -- Introduction -- State Commercial Banks -- Private Foreign and Local Commercial Banks -- Foreign Commercial Banks -- Local Commercial Banks -- Payment Card Infrastructure -- Money Service Businesses -- Post Office Networks -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 5 Informal Financial Sector Infrastructure for Remittances -- Introduction -- Types of Informal Remittance Systems -- Courier Services -- In-Kind Remittances -- Hawala.

Historical Background of Informal Remittance Systems -- Trade -- Foreign Exchange Controls -- Conflict -- Migrant Incentives for Using Informal Remittance Systems -- Trust -- Cost -- Speed -- Convenience and Accessibility -- Anonymity -- Risks and Potential Abuse of Informal Remittance Systems -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 6 Conclusions and Recommendations -- Introduction -- Enhancing the Development Impact of Remittances -- Public Infrastructure for Remittances -- Formal Financial Infrastructure for Remittances -- Informal Financial Infrastructure for Remittances -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Appendix 1 Summary of Dataset on Poverty, Inequality, International Migration, and Remittances -- Bibliography -- Index -- Back Cover.