Remittances and migration: some policy considerations for NGOs

This paper finds that NGOs should be wary of joining the ‘remittances euphoria’ of recent years. It points out that attempts to link remittances to wider development initiatives have met with limited success according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). NGOs must also recognise the limitations of remittances, for instance, they cannot be relied upon as a strategy to assist the poorest regions and countries in the world.

However, the authors also explain that remittances do offer NGOs the opportunity to support people at household and community levels by investing in and advising on this locally initiated income-generation practice. For example, NGOs could provide support to struggling migrants and to recipient family members. There may also be scope for NGOs to provide opportunities for remittance recipients to invest these resources in productive enterprises - such as through microfinance.

The paper suggests further that, at the policy level, NGOs should support the development of transparent, accessible and democratic financial institutions, whilst working to protect vulnerable remittance systems, which are not illegal but have taken the brunt of a misdirected ‘war on terror’.