Parallel studies funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
(September 2007 to August 2008)
Sida funded IIUD to conduct two research projects examining the impacts of migration and remittances in two different regional contexts: Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. The goal of the studies was to provide Sida with recommendations for strategies, policies and programs designed to enable migrants to build assets using remitted funds.
Field work began in
The Latin American study focused particularly on the impacts of migration and remittances on women from Central America and the Andean Region. Field work was conducted with women migrants in the U.S. from El Salvador, Honduras and Ecuador, women remittance recipients in those countries, and women migrants to Chile and Ecuador from Peru. Read more about LAC study.
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In addition to field research conducted in both regions, the studies focused on formulating policy recommendations and outlining potential actions and pilot projects based on dialogue with migrants and remittance recipients. This interaction enhanced the effectiveness of proposed programs since households and communities are eager to improve their economic situation and living conditions through judicious remittance-based investments, particularly in housing. Two final reports were completed for Sida in late 2008. Lund University plans to publish the Central American work in fall 2009.
Migratory Flows, Poverty, and Social Inclusion in Latin America (2003)
This paper was presented by Mona Serageldin at the World Bank Urban Research Symposium in 2003. It was based on a lead research initiative on migratory flows in Latin America, with a special emphasis on the urban impacts of transnational migration, and included original field documentation of Cuenca, Ecuador. The presentation demonstrated the need to address the impact of migratory movements in poverty reduction strategies at both the national and local levels, which led symposium participants to recommend including migration as a priority topic in the urban policy agenda. The paper has been published as Chapter 7 in Nabeel Hamdi (ed.), Urban Futures: Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction, Rugby: UK, 2005.
The research was expanded by a grant from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency to document two additional cases in Central America: Leon, Nicaragua and San Salvador, El Salvador. The report on this new research, entitled "Migratory Flows and Social Inclusion in Central America", was completed in September 2005.
The Institute is continuing its research on the topic of migratory flows and remittances as staff members prepare to teach courses to the internal staff of the Inter-American Development Bank in the Spring of 2006 in collaboration with Ricardo Puerta, the Institute's research affiliate in Honduras.
