Poverty Reduction and Decay in Sending: the Long-Term Macro-Economic Effects of Remittance Receipts in Mexico

Roberto Suro, Pew Hispanic Center

Migrant remittances flow to one of every six households in Mexico, including many of the poor but also many of the middle class, according to an extensive survey of remittance receivers conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center this year. An analysis of the survey results and other data assesses the extent to which remittances are producing a reduction in poverty versus providing an economic cushion for families that are safely beyond poverty. An analysis of another survey which was conducted among Mexican migrants in the United States examines the phenomenon of “decay” in remittance sending—the drop off in remittance as migrants become settled and families reunite. The survey findings and other data allow an estimation of the conditions and chronology that produce declines in remittance sending. Both the extent of poverty reduction and the process of decay are major factors in assessing the long-term macro-economic impact of migration on Mexico.