International migration, remittances, and remaining households: evidence from a trade embargo

Afnan Al-Malk, Jean-François Maystadt and Maria AVARRO Paniagua
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Afnan Al-Malk: Qatar University
Maria AVARRO Paniagua: Lancaster Univeristy

JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, 2024, vol. 90, issue 3, 412-433

Abstract: Identifying the impact of remittances on household members remaining behind is difficult due to selection into migration. In this paper, we exploit an unexpected embargo on Qatar, the second major destination among Nepali migrants. Using longitudinal data on about 1,500 Nepali households with migrants prior to the embargo, we assess how this shock translates into changes in remittances and development outcomes. We find a 56% reduction in remittances for households with a migrant in Qatar. At least in the months immediately after the shock, such a fall in remittances does not seem to translate into recipient household's welfare. However, we cannot exclude that such effect might materialize in the medium run. That is particularly true for poor and credit-constrained households, especially vulnerable to the remittance windfall and lacking the ability to move their migrants or other household members to other destinations.

Keywords: Embargo; Nepal; Qatar; Remittances (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E20 J61 O12 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-09-01
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctl:louvde:v:90:y:2024:i:3:p:412-433

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