Remittances and Labor Supply in the Northern Triangle

Sousa, Liliana D. ; Garcia-Suaza, Andres

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: REMITTANCES;    INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION;    MIGRANT LABOR;    ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT;    MIGRATION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-8597
RP-ID  :  WPS8597

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Through substitution and income effects,remittances can alter an individual's allocation oftime between market activities and household production,decreasing labor supply. This paper uses propensity scorematching and household surveys for 2006 and 2014 to estimatethe impact of remittances on labor supply in the threecountries of the Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Guatemala,and Honduras). The results show that remittances areassociated with a reduction in labor force participation,particularly among women. This effect is largest forSalvadoran women (13 percentage points). A sensitivityanalysis finds that the negative effect on labor forceparticipation rates of men in El Salvador and Guatemala andwomen in El Salvador is robust to potential selection bias.Receiving remittances is also associated with a lowerlikelihood of young adults being in school or at work, withthis effect being robust to selection bias for young men inGuatemala. At the same time, the evidence suggests thatremittances may be supporting small enterprises andself-employment in El Salvador and Guatemala. The analysisdoes not find robust evidence of remittances affecting thelabor supply in Honduras in 2014.