Determinants and Socioeconomic Impact of Remittances between Bangladesh and Italy : A Multivariate Analysis of Religion of Rural Households

This paper analyses the influence of religious differences amongst 10 villages on the remittance determinants and their socioeconomic impacts in remittance-receiving households in rural Bangladesh. Using micro-economic data from a survey conducted in 2013, multivariate analysis was carried out on 300 rural households. The empirical findings show that the remittance determinants (migrant age, marital status and number of visits; household head age, marital status and employment status) and impacts (saving and investment patterns) vary from religion to religion at the same community level of the households. The study suggests that the strong religious differences in the remittance behaviour of Bangladeshi households and highlights the importance of differentiating religious backgrounds when analysing the determinants of remittances