Worker remittances and government behaviour in the receiving countries
Thomas Ziesemer
#2008-029
We estimate the impact of worker remittances on savings, taxes, and
public expenditures on education, all as a share of GDP, for about
thirty years in two samples of countries with per capita income above
and below $1200 using dynamic panel data methods. Governments of the
poorer sample raise less taxes in the short run but more in the long run
and spend more money on education when remittances come in; in the
richer sample they raise less taxes and spend less on education in
response to remittances but this is almost completely compensated by the
positive response of expenditure on education to higher savings, which
results from remittances as well.
Jel Codes: F24, H20, H52
Key words: Remittances, tax revenue, government expenditures and
education
UNU-MERIT Working Papers
ISSN 1871-9872