The World Bank says remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to increase by 6.9 per cent to US$79 billion this year.
In the latest edition of the Bank’s Migration and Development Brief, the Washington-based institution noted that “economic growth and improvement in the labour market in the United States is having a positive impact on the outlook for remittance flows”.
Dilip Ratha, the lead author of the brief said “remittances are a lifeline for developing countries; this is particularly true following natural disasters, such as the recent earthquakes in Mexico and the storms devastating the Caribbean.
“It is imperative for the global community to reduce the cost of remitting money, by eliminating exclusivity contracts, especially in the high-income OECD countries. There is also an urgent need to address de-risking behaviour of global banks,” he added.
However, the report notes growth in remittances to the region will moderate in 2018 to US$82 billion.
The World Bank estimates that officially recorded remittances to developing countries on a whole are expected to grow by 4.8 per cent to US$450 billion for 2017.
It said global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, are projected to grow by 3.9 per cent to US$596 billion and that the recovery in remittance flows is driven by relatively stronger growth in the European Union, Russian Federation, and the United States.
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