Remittances
A study of migrant-sending households in Serbia receiving remittances from Switzerland
What is the impact of Swiss remittances sent to Serbia?
Authors:
J. Petree; N. Baruah
Publisher:
International Organization for Migration , 2008
This report analyses the impact of remittances sent back to families in Serbia by individuals who migrated and settled in Switzerland. It also looks at a profile of the migrant sending population and analyses trends and patterns.
It is argued that remittances sent by this sizeable Serbian population living in Switzerland are part of a larger flow in remittances. This places Serbia in the top eleven remittances-receiving countries in the world. Remittances have an important impact on the financial well-being of many families and are keeping some of the most vulnerable households out of poverty. They help people pay for medical care and, to a lesser extent, children’s education.
Recommended strategies to enhance remittance flows and economic development impact include:
- improve formal remittance transfer services to increase remittance flows through formal channels
- improve financial services available to migrants and migrant families in order to integrate more people into the formal banking system, facilitate more formal flows, increase savings and expand investment in SME’s
- increase philanthropic investment by the Serbian diaspora in physical infrastructure and social development projects.
