SUPPOSE there were a way of getting money to some of the world’s poorest people precisely when they need it. Suppose, too, that the flow hardly ever diminished, even during a global financial crisis. Finally, suppose the cash could not be creamed off by corrupt local officials. Surely every right-minded government in the world would want to encourage this and make it as cheap and easy as possible?
Alas, no. Remittances, the packets of money sent home by migrant workers from India, the Philippines and elsewhere, are individually tiny but collectively enormous. The World Bank estimates that flows to developing countries will be worth $440 billion this year—more than twice as much as foreign aid. And that is just the payments the bank can track.
The money earned from feeding toddlers, sweeping floors or writing code in richer countries brings all sorts of benefits when it returns home (see article). It eases poverty and boosts consumption. When poor families begin to receive remittances, they tend to yank their children out of menial jobs and send them to...
from The Economist: Leaders http://ift.tt/1KtFlOS
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