News
Migrations Programme - [06/08/2008]
Remittances for development: a claim called into question
In general terms, the remittances received by the families of Ecuadorian emigrants do not have any great effect on the social and human development of the country. This is one of the main conclusions of the research project on remittances in Ecuador that has been carried out by Iliana Olivié, Head Researcher in International Cooperation and Development at the Elcano Royal Institute, and Juan Ponce, Coordinator of the Economy Programme of FLACSO-Ecuador, and which they presented at the CIDOB Foundation on 5 June.
It is well known that a large proportion Ecuador's population lives overseas. What people tend not to know about is the impact that remittances have on Ecuador's development at a macro and micro-level - both at a state fiscal level, and at a family level. The project's conclusions showed that the temptation to use remittances as a tool for development is not based on the economic reality. What Olivié and Ponce highlight in their study is that, firstly, it is hard to quantify exactly how much is sent in remittances from Spain to Ecuador; this is due not only to the widespread use of informal channels to carry out transfers, but also to the fact that the remittances made are partly non-financial. Secondly, the authors stress that it is not the poorest citizens who receive the largest share of remittances, but the members of the middle classes, and that consequently this economic flow would not appear to play an important role in the eradication of extreme poverty. Given that these are flows of private capital, such remittances do not have a significant impact on either the fair distribution of the funds, or on the development of Ecuador's basic infrastructures.
The workshop - which included remarks by Anna Ayuso, Coordinator of the Latin America Programme at the CIDOB Foundation - featured the participation of experts from different institutions, who generated an interesting debate on the need to strengthen development instruments and policies.