Remittances and Gender: Theoretical Considerations and Empirical Evidence

Elke Holst, Andrea Schäfer () and Mechthild Schrooten
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Andrea Schäfer: University of Bremen

No 5472, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: In this paper, we focus on network- and gender-specific determinants of remittances, which are often explained theoretically by way of intra-family contracts. We develop a basic formal concept that includes aspects of the transnational network and derive hypotheses from it. For our empirical investigation, we use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) for the years 2001-2006. Our findings show: first, the fact that foreign women remit less money than foreign men can be explained by the underlying transnational network contract. Second, remittances sent by foreigners and naturalized immigrants have at least partly different determinants. Acquiring German citizenship increases the probability of family reunification in the destination country and decreases remittances. Third, the structure of the existing social network in Germany and the network structure in the home country both play important roles in explaining remittances.

Keywords: remittances; gender; foreigners; naturalized migrants (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 F22 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 38 pages
Date: 2011-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme and nep-mig
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Published - published as "Gender and Remittances: Evidence from Germany" in: Feminist Economics, 2012, 18 (2), 201-229

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Related works:
Working Paper: Remittances and Gender: Theoretical Considerations and Empirical Evidence (2011)
Working Paper: Remittances and Gender: Theoretical Considerations and Empirical Evidence (2011)
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