Beyond the remittances-driven economy: Notes as if the long run mattered

This paper discusses the causes and consequences of the current trend in which a principal driver of growth is inward remittances by workers deployed overseas. The main benefit of the phenomenon is an easing of the fiscal burden arising from the effectively large transfer from workers to the government. On the other hand, the “Dutch Disease” it causes takes a longterm toll on the tradables sector. The paper concludes that the fiscal payoffs from the phenomenon are best used by reinvesting these in the foundations of domestic competitiveness—particularly education and focused infrastructure—to offset the worst effects of the trend and prepare prudently for the time it ends or reverses.