Impact des envois de fonds des migrants sur les inégalités de revenu dans les pays en développement

This paper empirically tests the hypothesis that the effect of remittances on income inequality depends on who migrates abroad. To our knowledge, no macroeconomic study examining the effect of remittances on inequality has considered the composition of migratory flows. To reveal at the macroeconomic level the location of migrants in income distribution at origin, we introduce in our equation of inequality non-linearities in the level of development of recipient countries, in the costs of migration and in the level of brain drain. Using a panel sample of 80 developing countries over the period 1970-2000, and after factoring in the endogeneity of remittances, this paper provides evidence of some characteristics of countries in which remittances have an inequality-decreasing effect. Moreover, it turns out that remittances tend to reduce income inequality in the MENA region whereas an inequality-increasing effect is observed for Sub-Saharan Africa. Classification JEL : F24, D6, O1<np pagenum="1052"/>