Immigrant remittances and foreign aid: working together in the interest of global development?
Abstract
While scholars have compared official development assistance (ODA) to remittances, the question of whether and how these two resource flows are related has not garnered scholarly attention. In our study, we analyze data from the Study on International Money Transfers and find that remittances and ODA do not presently move together. Moreover, remittances are not principally driven by development needs in home countries, but by the individual-level characteristics of remitters themselves. We call on policy makers to carefully reflect on the drivers of remittances when considering how these flows might be effectively harnessed alongside ODA for the objective of advancing global development.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Migration and Labor Dynamics
Diaspora
migration
transnational identity
Climate Change
Adaptation
Migration
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Canadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue canadienne d études du développement
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 101–122
- Publication date
- 2 January 2026
- Language
- EN