Foreign Labor Migration and the Remittance Economy of Nepal

Bibliographic Data

ID23326636
AuthorsDavid Seddon (0000-0002-0281-2956), Jagannath Adhikari (0000-0002-2427-8475), Ganesh Gurung
Year2002
Volume34
Issue1
Pages19-40
Publication date2002-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-4810 • E-ISSN: 1472-6033
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/146727102760166581
OpenAlexW2022233736
LanguageEN
Citations received95

Official statistics seriously underestimate the number of Nepali migrant workers abroad and both the volume and value of remittances flowing back into Nepal from those workers. Original research by the authors suggests that many migrant workers abroad are working illegally and unofficially, and that the bulk of remittances also flow back into Nepal informally and illegally. The scale of remittances, consequently, is at least ten times greater than official estimates indicate (equal to 13 percent of GDP) and quite possibly twenty times greater (equal to 25 percent of GDP). This indicates the need for a thorough reconsideration of Nepal's balance of payments. The authors illustrate how remittances flow back into Nepal unevenly, contributing to growing inequalities, both between regions and between social classes.

Balance of payments · Demographic economics · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Foreign direct investment · Geography · Inequality · International economics · Labour economics · Nepali · Official statistics · Remittance · Scale (ratio) · Value (mathematics) · Wages and salaries · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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