Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper discusses the dramatic increase of remittances with the increase in scale of migration. It also highlights:

• The implications for national economies;
• Potential multiplier effect on GDP, consumption and investment.

As per the paper, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) began exploring various aspects of remittances for this purpose:

• Two LAC regional conferences on remittances were held;
• A series of MIF remittance projects were conducted;
• Two national - Remittances Roundtable Discussions were held.

The paper also outlines the current trends and issues regarding Latin American and Caribbean's (LAC) enormous remittances and provides a statistical summary on:

• Size of the LAC remittances market;
• Demographic characteristics;
• Economic impact of remittance flows for individual LAC countries.

The paper reveals that:

• Most LAC immigrants send remittances through international money transfer companies;
• Increased competition in the remittance industry has substantially reduced the cost of sending money to LAC;
• Central Banks and other government authorities have developed improved systems to effectively identify, monitor, and report the financial flows.

The paper concludes by stating that:

• Remittances are a big and growing business which directly and profoundly affects the lives of tens of millions of families;
• With the current level of immigration pattern, the importance of remittances will grow significantly.