The impact of skilled labour migration on remittance growth and development in Africa

Abstract

This study examines the impact of skilled labour migration on remittance growth in Africa using a general equilibrium. The demand for labour in USA has increased and the change in levels of remittances and savings is observed. The study finds that in general, labour migration has a positive impact on remittances but skilled labour migrations seem to have a larger impact. Further, it uses panel data analysis to explore the impact of remittances in the five East African countries where a positive relationship between remittances and economic growth is observed. This results show that although skilled labour migration has traditionally been seen as damaging for African countries, it could have positive impact through the remittance channel.

Keywords: Remittances, skilled labour migration, GMig2.