A panel data analysis of the growth effects of remittances

Many development economists believe that remittances by the migrant workers are an important source of long rum growth. Therefore, recent studies have investigated the indirect and direct effects remittances on the growth rates of the recipient countries. This paper analyses the strength of these effects with a common data set and with alternative methods of estimation. It is found that while the evidence supports the indirect effects of remittances, the direct growth effects of remittances seem to be insignificant.