Remittances are extremely important in the Latin American context. In
2006, remittances to Latin America amounted to about US$52 billion,
making them comparable to foreign direct investment (FDI) and much
larger than official development assistance (ODA) flows to the region.
Today, Latin America is the top recipient region of remittances both by volume
and in per-capita terms. Yet some important questions remain. What
is the impact of these flows on the poverty levels of the different countries?
Are there costs associated with remittances—and more significantly—to
the migration that logically precedes remittances flows? What are the main
challenges that policy makers face in countries experiencing a surge in
remittances flows? In short, what is the development impact of remittances
in Latin America, and how can it be enhanced?