The term “remittance” has been long associated with the following words: migrants and the name of any major money-transfer company. The truth is, the world has been overlooking and underestimating the influence of something that goes beyond what has been thought to be irrelevant or insignificant money transfers. The fact is, remittances are much more important than we actually think they are.

According to the World Bank, by 2016 global remittances will reach a new record high $686 billion, of which $516 billion would go to less developed countries. If we put these numbers into perspective and compare them to other major financial inflows, we reach to the conclusion that remittances are actually three times higher than official development assistance aid, and in many countries (with the exception of China) remittances actually represent a larger share than Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).

Only until recently, our approach to remittances has shifted. Increasingly, it is being discussed how remittances have a global impact not just in financial terms, but also in social ones. The world has become aware that the money migrant workers send to their families is destined to cover basic necessities such as food, education or health expenses that could not be covered otherwise. Moreover, it has now become clear that remittances help to eliminate extreme poverty and serve as immediate aid to alleviate entire countries in times of natural disasters, political turmoil, or economic recession.

Nowadays it is more apparent that remittances change and affect not only small communities or the economies of small and poor countries, but also the world economy in its entirety. More than ever, remittances have shown how unlike international aid or foreign direct investments, these money transfers that are placed directly in the hands of those in need, contribute to maintain the dynamism of the world economy.

Remittances are in fact a tour de force, an engine that either jumpstarts or sustains economies. In countries like Tajikistan, remittances represent over 47% of the country’s GDP, in the Kyrgyz Republic of 32% and Nepal of 29%. Remittances also have the power to keep nations from collapsing. In the case of countries like Somalia, remittances represent more than a big share of the national GDP (35%), as the money transfers that the African nation captures are contribute directly to alleviate a deep humanitarian crisis that has the country on the verge of disaster.

Thus, remittances should not become a synonym of the money-transfer industry, or an ode to companies like Western Union or Money Gram. Instead, remittances should become a constant reminder of how the 232 million migrants that exist in the world are having an economic impact in a great scale. Migrants are thus an important economic engine not only for the immediate economies for which they work, but also for their countries of origin.

In the midst of difficult circumstances, discrimination, family separation, among others; the remittances sent by migrants, become a reflection of poorly articulated national economies that require the support of external factors. Hence, remittances should not be only thought of as a byproduct of migration patterns or capital flows; on the contrary, remittances should be regarded as an instrument through which many countries can jumpstart their economies, end hunger, educate children, and provide an overall lifeline to those countries that depend on these valuable money transfers.

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 Un Mundo de Remesas 

El término “remesa” se ha asociado durante mucho tiempo con las siguientes palabras: migrantes y el nombre de cualquier gran compañía de transferencia de dinero. Sin embargo, a decir verdad el mundo ha estado subestimando la influencia de algo que va más allá de lo que se ha considerado como transferencias de dinero irrelevantes e insignificantes. El hecho es que las remesas son mucho más importantes de lo que realmente pensamos.

Según el Banco Mundial, en 2016 las remesas mundiales alcanzarán un nuevo récord de 686 mil millones dólares, de los cuales $ 516 billones irían a países menos desarrollados. Si ponemos estas cifras en perspectiva y los comparamos con otros flujos financieros importantes, se llega a la conclusión de que las remesas son en realidad tres veces superiores al total de la ayuda humanitaria global y en muchos países (con la excepción de China), las remesas de hecho representan una mayor cuota que la de inversión Extranjera directa (IED).

Sin embargo, no fue sino hasta hace poco que nuestro enfoque sobre el tema de las remesas ha cambiado. Cada vez más, se está discutiendo cómo las remesas tienen un impacto global no sólo en términos financieros, sino también en términos sociales. El mundo se ha dado cuenta de que el dinero que los trabajadores migrantes envían a sus familias está destinado a cubrir necesidades básicas tales como gastos de alimentación, educación o salud que no podían ser cubiertos de otro modo. Por otra parte, ahora también ha quedado claro que las remesas ayudan a eliminar la pobreza extrema y sirven como ayuda inmediata para aliviar a países enteros en tiempos de desastres naturales, inestabilidad política, o recesión económica.

Hoy en día es más evidente que las remesas afectan no sólo a las comunidades pequeñas o las economías de los países pequeños y pobres; sino también a la economía mundial en su totalidad. Más que nunca, las remesas han demostrado cómo a diferencia de la ayuda internacional o la inversión extranjera directa, estas transferencias de dinero que se colocan directamente en las manos de aquellos que lo necesitan, contribuyen a mantener el dinamismo de la economía mundial.