Policy options for increasing the benefits of remittances

This paper is a summary of thoughts on work in progress under a project entitled Migrant remittances and development cooperation, funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (NORAD) and carried out at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO). The paper examines some of the foundations for sound remittances-related policy. First, existing literature is used to set up a simple model of remittances-development relationships, and an inventory of policy measures. I then briefly discuss two key dimensions of variation among these measures before proceeding to a more thorough discussion of seven foundations for policy in the field of remittances and development.