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pacity to access foreign financing. [6] In the case of Ecuador, several studies point to the fact that migrants’ remittances are now the second-largest source of external financing after oil revenues (Olivié, 2008). The high volume and stability of remittances therefore contrast with the low and concentrated or volatile access of developing countries to alternative sources of funds, such as foreign direct investment in the first case, or official assistance and private credit in the second (Ratha, 2003). Moreover, several studies underline that remittances may record counter-cyclical behavior, increasing in times of economic recession or financial crises in destination countries. This would mean that remittances have also become a mechanism for absorbing adverse shocks (Molina, 2006; World Bank, 2006).

 

A second commonly accepted assumption involves the impact of remittances on development through their capacity to alleviate poverty. There is common belief in a direct link connecting migrant remittances with poverty reduction and human development –better education, wider access to health care– thus facilitating the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Academic articles on this topic cover a wide range of countries and impact variables, and they come to very diverse conclusions. According to the World Bank (2006), remittances do tend to reduce poverty, have a weak impact on inequality, and lead to higher household expenses in health and education. More precisely, Adams and Page (2005) estimate the impact of migration and remittances on inequality and poverty for 71 countries and find that a 10% increase in remittances reduces the proportion of individuals living below the poverty line by 3.5%. [7]

 

According to Acosta et al. (2007b), remittances have the capacity of lowering poverty in Latin America. Every 1% increase in remittances as a proportion of GDP leads to a 0.37% poverty reduction in this region. However, the impact on poverty varies from country to country and depends on initial levels of income inequality. On the basis of balance-of-payments data and national household surveys, Acosta et al. (2007a) evaluate the impact of remittances on poverty, education, and health in eleven Latin American countries [8] and conclude that a moderate but positive impact on poverty reduction does exist. The authors also observe strong regional heterogeneity regarding this impact. [9] Fajnzylber and López (2007) come to the same conclusion: remittances have a positive but weak impact on poverty reduction, equality, growth, and investment. Acosta et al. (2008) find a positive impact on education expenditures and enrollment rates, as well as on health spending, and on anthropometric indicators in the lowest quintiles in El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. However, results for Mexico prove insignificant, while a positive impact on savings is seen among the lowest income groups throughout the region as a whole. On the other hand, López-Córdova (2006) finds positive results for Mexico, where infant mortality and child illiteracy (ages 6 to 14) decline as a consequence of remittances. Inter-American Dialogue (2007) finds signs of an impact on poverty by flows from the U本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。