The Kernel of the Migration Literature on Remittances

This paper provides the kernel of the migration literature on remittances. It started from their three most debated features: stability, cyclicality and sustainability. Then moved to the motives driving remittances and, finally, their relationship with development. Both sustainability and cyclicality are the most controversial issues, as they are probably the most critical in terms of economic development. The former is fundamental from an endogenous point of view. In terms of dynamic convergence, if sustainability holds, less financial developed countries could redeem themselves fostering riskier and more productive investments, ‘substituting’ their liquidity constraints with pro-cyclical remittances. On the other hand, from a ‘brain gain’ perspective, if the inverse relation between the time spent abroad and intention to remit is going to be confirmed in future works, the ‘brain circulation could be beneficial both from a human capital and a remittances point of view