Migrant remittances, social inequality and restrictive immigration regimes

Abstract

The case of Cape Verde shows that the relationship between remittances and inequality in migrant-sending countries depends on a number of factors. The situation is thus more complicatedthan the dominant pessimistic view of the 1970s and 1980s or today’s “development optimism” discourse. Among the factors are changes over time in the selectivity of migrants, variations in family organization and differences in impact between permanent and return migration. A policy debate about remittances and inequality needs to include immigration regimes. Migrant-sending countries can reduce the risk that remittances will exacerbate socioeconomicinequality by facilitating the use of remittances for projects that benefit local communities. Destination countries can open up possibilities for legal labour migration, especiallyfor those who are not highly educated, in order to promote, among other things, a more equal distribution of remittances.