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Abstract

Remittances have increased remarkably in recent decades and it has both positive and negative impacts on the countries at macro and micro levels, which has attracted the attention of economists and politicians. The influence of remittances on cross-border dynamics, and economies of recipient nations as well as the determinants of remittances has been largely researched. There is also a growing interest and research on the determinants of remittance channels such as migrant characteristics or channel attributes to understand how remittances are being transferred. However, the influence of migrant’s social networks on the remittance channel selection has been understudied. In this paper, I studied the determinants influencing migrants' choice of remittance channels as it is a multifaceted decision-making process and theorised how migrants' social networks influence channel selection using utility maximisation and the Theory of Clubs. Next, I conducted multinomial logit regression analysis using datasets from South Africa and Myanmar, revealing insights into migrants' channel preferences. The paper also identifies the limitations and proposes future research directions, emphasising the need for comprehensive data collection methods and deeper analyses of social network dynamics. Lastly, it discusses some policy implications regarding interventions to promote formal channel usage and enhance economic infrastructure in recipient countries.

Advisor

Moledina, Amyaz

Department

Economics

Disciplines

Behavioral Economics | Econometrics | Labor Economics

Keywords

Remittances, Channels, Transfer Method

Publication Date

2024

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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