The reasons behind emigrants going abroad, whether personal or family, produced among other consequences, an increase in monetary remittances. In a general sense, those who left, in order for them to do so, needed family assistance, which they reciprocate from abroad. In other instances, they support their relatives by helping to alleviate instability in the home, contributing to the family budget.

It has been proven that emigrants, having left their mother country, preserve their national affiliation. In many cases, their patriotic passion is even augmented, thus encouraging transnational experiences that lead toward a new vision of relations between the recipient and generating country. Emigrants devise various mechanisms that enable them to live between one country and another. In that new way of life, they acquire resources through their work in the recipient society and invest the profits in the native country. They also export or import in both senses, for the demand of the ethnic markets, and to satisfy the demand for foreign products in the mother country.

Family assistance from emigration creates a mechanism for increased earnings geared toward covering essential family expenses, in terms of food, health, education and housing. This is an important contribution since it supports the family, expanding its purchasing capacity, not to mention it attracts foreign exchange to the mother country. In another sense, it is a subsidy received from abroad for persons who would not have access to such services if they were to depend solely on state assistance.

For transnational business, it is not only a question of consumption, but also the transfer of capital or profits in two directions. This has given rise to a new transnational business community which, in order to expand, needs to work simultaneously in both countries. These entrepreneurs operate in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy. In both cases, they constitute a modern business community. This new activity has direct repercussions on the creation of employment and in the worse case scenario, it opens doors to accommodate a sizeable number of relatives or family members associated with transnational business.

Furthermore, emigrants make yet another type of contribution aimed at meeting the needs of their respective communities of origin, which can range from contributions for the construction of public buildings, such as hospitals, churches, schools, recreational centres and apart from these, they contribute in cultural and social areas, for example celebrations in honour of a patron saint.

In all cases, these contributions represent significant amounts for the economic balance of the emigrant generating countries, since in many of them, remittances account for more than 10% of the GDP, or represent the second or third source of foreign exchange earnings in said countries. Moreover, it has been estimated that the amount of this heading exceeds that earned through international co-operation.

This is one of the paradoxes of economic development in the twenty first century, where the poor have become a crucial instrument in the development of the very economies that impoverished them. Estimates from significant international organisations such as the IMF, indicate that total remittances internationally exceed 75 billion United States dollars.

Dr. Zoila González Maicas is the Sustainable Tourism Director of the Association of Caribbean States. The views expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS. Feedback can be sent to mail@acs-aec.org

01 December, 2004