Remittances High on Radar of World Economists

Your browser doesn’t support HTML5

Many migrants send small amounts of money - called "remittances" - home to friends and family members. But with 200 million international migrants out there, those small sums add up quickly. In 2013, migrants around the world sent back $400 billion, far outweighing official aid to many countries and sometimes providing the largest source of foreign exchange. This has economists wondering - can remittances boost not just a receiving family’s budget but their country's economy too? VOA's Laurel Bowman has more.