International Remittances and Subjective Wellbeing in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Micro-level Study

Springer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 40 - Trang 524-539 - 2019
Iddisah Sulemana1, Louis Doabil2, Ebenezer Bugri Anarfo2
1Department of Economics, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
2Business School, Ghana Institute of Management & Public Administration, Achimota, Accra, Ghana

Tóm tắt

According to United Nations reports, in 2017, there were about 24.6 million Africans living outside of Africa. As a corollary, remittances to the continent have increased tremendously, exceeding official development assistance. The present paper examined whether receiving international remittances is correlated with the subjective wellbeing of relatives left behind in Africa. Using data from the Round 6 of the Afrobarometer Surveys in 32 Sub-Saharan African countries, our results from ordinary least squares, instrumental variable two-stage least squares, ordered probit, and instrumental variable probit regressions revealed unambiguously that receiving remittances exert a positive and statistically significant effect on subjective wellbeing at the 0.1% level. Specifically, we found that a unit increase in the frequency with which people receive remittances is associated with a 0.0660-point increase in subjective wellbeing, ceteris paribus. Moreover, a unit increase in receiving remittances increases the probability that the respondent would report having good and very good living conditions by about 1.67% and 0.44%, respectively.

Tài liệu tham khảo

Adams, R. H. (2011). Evaluating the economic impact of international remittances on developing countries using household surveys: A literature review. The Journal of Development Studies, 4, 809–828. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2011.563299. Adams, R. H., & Page, J. (2005). Do international migration and remittances reduce poverty in developing countries? World Development, 33(10), 1645–1669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.05.004. Adepoju, A. (1995). Migration in Africa: An overview. In J. Baker & T. A. Aina (Eds.), The migration experience in Africa (pp. 97–108). Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet. Ahrendt, D., Dubois, H., & Erika, M. (2015). An overview of quality of life in Europe. In W. Glatzer, L. Camfield, V. Moller, & M. Rojas (Eds.), Global handbook of quality of life: Exploration of well-being of nations and continents (pp. 625–661). New York: Springer. Aina, T. A., & Baker, J. (1995). The range of migration experience. In J. Baker & T. A. Aina (Eds.), The migration experience in Africa (pp. 97–108). Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet. Ajayi, M. A., Ijaiya, M. A., Ijaiya, G. T., Bello, R. A., Ijaiya, M. A., & Adeyemi, S. L. (2009). International remittances and well-being in Sub-saharan Africa. Journal of Economics and International Finance, 1(3), 078–084. Akay, A., Giulietti, C., Robalino, J. D., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2014). Remittances and well-being among rural-to-urban migrants in China. Review of Economics of the Household, 12(3), 517–546. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-013-9208-7. Amuedo-Dorantes, C., & Pozo, S. (2006). Remittance receipt and business ownership in the Dominican Republic. World Economy, 29(7), 939–956. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9701.2006.00830.x. Andersson, L. (2012). Migration, remittances and household welfare in Ethiopia. UNU-MERIT Working Paper #2014-004. Retrieved from https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/portal/files/1374880/guid-256aea1c-02bc-4d72-824b-82eddd85d3e0-ASSET1.0. Andrews, F. M., & Withey, S. B. (1976). Social indicators of well-being: America’s perception of life quality. New York: Plenum Press. Anyanwu, J. C., & Erhijakpor, A. E. (2010). Do international remittances affect poverty in Africa? African Development Review, 22(1), 51–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8268.2009.00228.x. Bartram, D. (2015). Migration and quality of life in the global context. In W. Glatzer, L. Camfield, M. Valerie & M. Rojas (Eds.), Global handbook of quality of life: Exploration of well-being of nations and continents (pp. 491–503). New York: Springer. Binder, M., & Coad, A. (2015). Heterogeneity in the relationship between unemployment and subjective wellbeing: A quantile approach. Economica, 82(328), 865–891. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecca.12150. Blanchflower, D. G., & Oswald, A. J. (2008). Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle? Social Science & Medicine, 66(8), 1733–1749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.01.030. Böhme, M. H., Persian, R., & Stöhr, T. (2015). Alone but better off? Adult child migration and health of elderly parents in Moldova. Journal of Health Economics, 39, 211–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2014.09.001. Bookwalter, J., Fitch-Fleischmann, B., & Dalenberg, D. (2011). Understanding life-satisfaction changes in post-apartheid South Africa. MPRA Paper No. 34579. Retrieved from https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/34579/. Borraz, F., Pozo, S., & Rossi, M. (2010). And what about the family back home? International migration and happiness in Cuenca, Ecuador. Journal of Business Strategy, 27(1), 7–27. Botha, F. (2014). Life satisfaction and education in South Africa: Investigating the role of attainment and the likelihood of education as a positional good. Social Indicators Research, 118(2), 555–578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0452-2. Bracking, S., & Sachikonye, L. (2006). Remittances, poverty reduction and the informalisation of household wellbeing in Zimbabwe. Global Poverty Research Group, University of Manchester and Oxford. Retrieved from https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d51e6826-8ad2-44a4-a008-70d9494ae1df. Bracking, S., & Sachikonye, L. (2010). Migrant remittances and household wellbeing in urban Zimbabwe. International Migration, 45(5), 203–227. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2008.00503.x. Busseri, M. A., & Sadava, S. W. (2011). A review of the tripartite structure of subjective well-being: Implications for conceptualization, operationalization, analysis, and synthesis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15, 290–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868310391271. Cárdenas, M., Di Maro, V., & Sorkin, I. (2009). Migration and life satisfaction : Evidence from Latin America. Journal of Business Strategy, 26, 9–33. Carrasco, E., & Ro, J. (2007). Remittances and Development. Ames: The University of IOWA Centre for International Finance Development E-Book. Chauvet, L., & Mercier, M. (2014). Do return migrants transfer political norms to their origin country? Evidence from Mali. Journal of Comparative Economics, 42(3), 630–651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2014.01.001. Chukwuone, N. A., Okpukpara, B. C., Amaechina, E., Enebeli-Uzor, S. E., & Iyoko, E. (2008). Do remittances have any effect on poverty in Nigeria? Evidence from instrumental variable estimation. In UNU—WIDER conference on frontiers of poverty analysis. Helsinki. Clark, A., Frijters, P., & Shields, M. (2008). Relative income, happiness, and utility: An explanation for the Easterlin paradox and other puzzles. Journal of Economic Literature, 46(1), 95–144. Cortes, P. (2015). The feminization of international migration and its effects on the children left behind: Evidence from the Phillippines. World Development, 65, 62–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.10.021. Cortina, J. (2014). Beyond the money: the impact of internationalmogration on children’s life satisfaction: Evidence from Ecuador and Albania. Migration and Development, 3(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/21632324.2014.885635. Cummins, R. A., Eckersley, R., Pallant, J., Van Vugt, J., & Misajon, R. (2003). Developing a national index of subjective wellbeing: The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index. Social Indicators Research, 64(2), 159–190. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024704320683. De Haan, A. (2000). Migrants, livelihoods, and rights: The relevance of migration in development policies. Social Development Working Paper 4. London: Department for International Development. De Haas, H. (2005). International migration, remittances and development: myths and facts. Third World Quarterly, 26(8), 1269–1284. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436590500336757. Deutsch, J., Musahara, H., & Silber, J. (2016). On the measurement of multidimensional well-being in some countries in eastern and southern Africa. In Poverty and well-being in East Africa (pp. 191–214). Cham: Springer. Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological bulletin, 95(3), 342–575. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.95.3.542. Diener, E. (1994). Assessing subjective well-being: Progress and opportunities. Social Indicators Research, 31, 103–157. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01207052. Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34–43. Diener, E., Scollon, C. N., & Lucas, R. E. (2003). The evolving concept of subjective well-being: The Multifaceted nature of happiness. Advances in Cell Aging and Gerontology, 15, 187–219. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2354-4_4. Diener, E., Suh, E., & Oishi, S. (1997). Recent findings on subjective well-being. Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology, 24, 25–41. Dreby, J. (2015). U.S immigration policy and family separation: The consequences for children’s well-being. Social Science & Medicine, 132, 245–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.08.041. Dunn, E., Aknin, L., & Norton, M. (2008). Spending money on others promote happiness. Science, 319(5870), 1687–1688. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1150952. Easterlin, R. A. (1974). Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence. In P. A. David & M. W. Reder (Eds.), National and households in economic growth (pp. 89–125). New York: Academic Press. Fayissa, B., & Nsiah, C. (2010). The impact of remittances on economic growth and development in Africa. The American Economist, 55(2), 92–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/056943451005500210. Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A., & Frijters, P. (2004). How important is methodology for the estimates of the determinants of happiness? The Economic Journal, 114(497), 641–659. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2004.00235.x. Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A., & Van Praag, B. (2003). Income satisfaction inequality and its causes. Journal of Economic Inequality, 1(2), 107–127. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026109706836. Fonta, W. M., Ayuk, E. T., Chukwu, J. O., Onyukwu, O. E., Agu, C. C., & Umenwa, I. O. (2015). Dynamics of remittance utilization by Nigerian households. Progress in Development Studies, 15(4), 343–357. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464993415592742. Frijters, P., & Beatton, T. (2012). The mystery of the U-shaped relationship between happiness and age. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 82(2–3), 525–542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2012.03.008. Gerlach, K., & Stephan, G. (1996). A paper on unhappiness and unemployment in Germany. Economics Letters, 52(3), 325–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-1765(96)00858-0. Graham, E., & Jordan, L. P. (2011). Migrant parents and the psychological well-being of left-behind children in Southeast Asia. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73(4), 763–787. Greene, W. H. (2012). Econometric analysis (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Helliwell, J. F. (2003). How’s life? Combining individual and national variables to explain subjective wellbeing. Economic Modelling, 20(2), 331–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-9993(02)00057-3. Hudson, J. (2006). Institutional trust and subjective well-being across the EU. Kyklos, 59(1), 43–62. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6435.2006.00319.x. International Monetary Fund (IMF). (2009). Balance of payments and international investment position manual. Washington, DC: IMF. Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/bop/2007/pdf/bpm6.pdf. Ivlevs, A., & King, R. M. (2012). Family migration capital and migration intentions. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 33(1), 118–129. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-011-9269-9. Ivlevs, A., & King, R. M. (2017). Does emigration reduce corruption? Public Choice, 171(3–4), 389–408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-017-0442-z. Ivlevs, A., Nikolova, M., & Graham, C. (2018). Emigration, remittances, and the subjective well-being of those behind. Journal of Population Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-018-0718-8. James, H. S. Jr. (2011). Is the just man a happy man? An empirical study of the relationship between ethics and subjective well-being. Kyklos, 64(2), 193–212. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6435.2011.00502.x. Joarder, M. A. M., Harris, M., & Dockery, A. M. (2017). Remittances and happiness of migrants and their home households: Evidence using matched samples. The Journal of Development Studies, 53(3), 422–443. Kamau, P. (2017). Economic paradox in Kenya: More favourable perceptions amidst economic insecurity. Dispatch No. 169. Retrieved from http://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Dispatches/ab_r7_dispatchno169_kenya_economy.pdf. Krokfors, C. (1995). Poverty, environmental stress and culture as factors in African migration. In J. Baker & T. A. Aina (Eds.), The migration experience in Africa (pp. 55–64). Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet. Kuroki, M. (2013). Crime victimization and subjective well-being: Evidence from happiness data. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14, 783–794. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-012-9355-1. Lelkes, O. (2006). Knowing what is good for you: Empirical analysis of personal preferences and the ‘‘objective good’’. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 35(2), 285–307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2005.11.002. Levitt, P. (1998). Social remittances: Migration driven local—level forms of culture diffusion. International Migration Review, 32(4), 926–948. https://doi.org/10.1177/019791839803200404. Masron, T. A., & Subramaniam, Y. (2018). Remittance and poverty in developing countries. International Journal of Development Issues, 17(3), 305–325. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDI-04-2018-0054. Mattes, R. (2008). The material and political bases of lived poverty in Africa: Insights from the Afrobarometer. In V. Møller, D. Huschka, & A. C. Michalos (Eds.), Barometers of quality of life around the globe (pp. 161–185). Dordrecht: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8686-1_7. Mattes, R., Dulani, B., & Gyimah-Boadi, E. (2016). Africa’s growth dividend? Lived poverty drops across much of the continent. Afrobarometer Policy Paper No. 29. Retrieved from http://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Policy%20papers/ab_r6_policypaperno29_lived_poverty_declines_in_africa_eng.pdf. McKelvey, R. D., & Zavoina, W. (1975). A statistical model for the analysis of ordinal level dependent variables. Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 4(1), 103–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/0022250X.1975.9989847. Meyer, D., & Shera, A. (2017). The impact of remittances on economic growth: An econometric model. Economia, 18, 147–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econ.2016.06.001. Muruthi, B., Watkins, K., McCoy, M., Muruthi, J. R., & Kiprono, F. J. (2017). “I feel happy that I can be useful to others”: Preliminary study of east African women and their remittance behavior. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 38(3), 315–326. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-017-9533-8. Nikolova, M., Roman, M., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2017). Left behind but doing good? Civic engagement in two post—Socialist countries. Journal of Comparative Economics, 45(3), 658–684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2016.04.006. O’Connor, A. (1991). Poverty in Africa: A geographical approach. London: Belhaven Press. Owusu-Sekyere, E. (2011). Foreign inflows of remittances into Sub-Saharan Africa. Doctoral Dissertations, University of Pretoria. Pfutze, T. (2012). Does migration promote democratization? Evidence from the Mexican transition. Journal of Comparative Economics, 40(2), 159–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2012.01.004. Pokimica, J., Addai, I., & Takyi, B. K. (2012). Religion and subjective well-being in Ghana. Social Indicators Research, 106, 61–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-011-9793-x. Ponce, J., Olivié, I., & Onofa, M. (2011). The role of international remittances in health outcomes in Ecuador: Prevention and response to shocks. International Migration Review, 45(3), 727–745. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2011.00864.x. Pradhan, G., Upadhyay, M., & Upadhaya, K. (2008). Remittances and economic growth in developing countries. The European Journal of Development Research, 20(3), 497–506. https://doi.org/10.1080/09578810802246285. Quartey, P. (2006). The impact of migrant remittances on household welfare in Ghana. AERC Research Paper 158. Africa Economic Research Consortium. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved from http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/123456789/2669. Ratha, D. (2005). Workers’ Remittances: An Important and Stable Source of External Development Finance. In S. M. Maimbo & D. Ratha (Eds.), Remittances development impact and future prospects (pp. 19–51). Washington, DC: The World Bank. Ratha, D. (2006). Leveraging remittances for development. In J. F. Hollifield, P. M. Orrenius, & T. Osang (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2006 conference on migration, migration, trade and development (pp. 173–185). Dallas, TX: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Ricca, S. (1989). International migration in Africa: Legal and administrative aspects. Geneva: International Labor Organization. Rojas, M. (2009). Enhancing poverty-abatement programs: A subjective well-being contribution. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 4(2), 179–199. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-009-9071-0. Sander, C., & Maimbo, S. M. (2005). Migrant remittances in Africa: A regional perspective. In S. M. Maimbo & D. Ratha (Eds.), Remittances development impact and future prospects (pp. 54–79). Washington, DC: The World Bank. Semyonov, M., & Gorodzeisky, A. (2008). Labor migration, remittances and economic well-being of households in the Philippines. Population Research Policy Review, 27, 619–637. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-008-9084-7. Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. New York: Anchor Books. Skeldon, R. (2008). International migration as a tool in development policy: A passing phase? Population and Development Review, 34(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2008.00203.x. Stark, O. (2014). On the economics of others. SSRN. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2414475. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2414475. Stark, O., & Taylor, J. E. (1989). Relative deprivation and international migration. Demography, 26(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.2307/2061490. Stock, J. H., & Yogo, M. (2004). Testing for Weak Instruments in Linear IV Regression. In D. W. K. Andrews & J. H. Stock (Eds.), Identification and inference for econometric models: Essays in honor of Thomas J. Rothenberg. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sulemana, I. (2015a). The effect of fear of crime and crime victimization on subjective well-being in Africa. Social Indicators Research, 121(3), 849–872. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0660-4. Sulemana, I. (2015b). An empirical investigation of the relationship between social capital and subjective well-being in Ghana. Journal of Happiness Studies, 16(5), 1299–1321. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-014-9565-9. Sulemana, I., Anarfo, B., E., & Quartey, P. (2018). International remittances and household food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. Migration and Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/21632324.2018.1560926. Sulemana, I., Iddrisu, A. M., & Kyoore, J. E. (2017). A micro-level study of the relationship between experienced corruption and subjective wellbeing in Africa. The Journal of Development Studies, 53(1), 138–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2016.1187721. Tay, L., Kuykendall, L., & Diener, E. (2015). Satisfaction and happiness—The bright side of quality of life. In W. Glatzer, L. Camfield, V. Moller & M. Rojas (Eds.), Global handbook of quality of life: Exploration of well-being of nations and continents (pp. 839–853). New York: Springer. Thomas, R. L., Vardanyan, Y., Yagaloff, L., & Diamond, R. (2018). Remittances: The impact on families in Armenia. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 39(4), 634–646. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-018-9580-9. UNDP. (2009). Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development. New York: Human Development Report. United Nations. (2017). Trends in International Migrant Stock. The 2017 revision (United Nations Database, POP/DB/MIG/Stock/Rev2017). Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. United Nations Environment Programme (2015). Sustainable development goals. United Nations Environment Programme: Annual Report. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg3. Vanore, M., Mazzucato, V., & Siegel, M. (2015). Left behind but not left alone: Parental migration & the psychosocial health of children in Moldova. Social Science & Medicine, 132, 252–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.08.040. Vargas-Silva, C. (2012). Handbook of research methods in migration. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Punlishoing. Veenhoven, R. (1991). Is happiness relative? Social Indicators Research, 24, 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00292648. Veenhoven, R. (1995). The cross-national pattern of happiness: Test of predictions implied in three theories of happiness. Social Indicators Research, 34, 33–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01078967. Wen, M., Su, S., Li, X., & Lin, D. (2015). Positive youth development in rural China: The role of parental migration. Social Science & Medicine, 132, 261–269. Woodruff, C., & Zenteno, R. (2001). Remittances and microenterprises in Mexico. Working Paper, University of California, UCSD Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, San Diego. Wooldridge, J. M. (2010). Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data (2nd ed.). Cambridge: MIT. World Bank. (2006). Global economic prospects: Economic implications of remittances and migration. Washington, DC: The World Bank. World Bank. (2013). World development indicators 2013. Washinton, DC: World Bank. World Bank. (2015). Migration and development brief. Washington DC: The World Bank. World Bank. (2016). Migration and remittances Factbook 2016. Washington, DC: KNOMAD. World Bank. (2017). Migration and remittances. Washington DC: World Bank. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/labormarkets/brief/migration-and-remittances. World Bank (2018). Migration and remittances surveys. Washington DC: World Bank. Retrieved from http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/mrs. Wu, Q., Lu, D., & Kang, M. (2015). Social capital and the mental health of children in rural China with different experiences of parental migration. Social Science & Medicine, 132, 270–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.10.050. Yoon, A. O. (2014). Life satisfaction of the families of migrants in the Philippines. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 23(3), 249–271. https://doi.org/10.1177/011719681402300301. Zarate-Hoyos, G. A. (2004). Consumption and remittances in migrant households: Toward a productive use of remittances. Contemporary Economic Policy, 22(4), 555–565. https://doi.org/10.1093/cep/byh042. Zhunio, M. C., Vishwasrao, S., & Chiang, E. P. (2012). The influence of remittances on education and health outcomes: A cross country study. Applied Economics, 44(35), 4605–4616. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2011.593499.