From Remittances to Development: Exploring Nepal's Path to Progress
(2023) EKHK18 20231Department of Economic History
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Nepal is one of the largest recipients of remittances compared to the size of the economy,
reaching 30,1% of GDP in 2018. This makes understanding them, their effects, and how to
positively impact that an important policy tool. Additionally, remittances outpace both
Official Development Aid and Foreign Direct Investments for Low- and Middle-Income
countries. It has become increasingly apparent for most actors with a vested interest in
development that remittances are an important tool when trying to improve livelihoods in
poor countries.
Therefore, this paper explores the effect of remittances on development in Nepal and
examines the different ways to increase the positive impacts by suggesting concrete policy
reforms and... (More) - Nepal is one of the largest recipients of remittances compared to the size of the economy,
reaching 30,1% of GDP in 2018. This makes understanding them, their effects, and how to
positively impact that an important policy tool. Additionally, remittances outpace both
Official Development Aid and Foreign Direct Investments for Low- and Middle-Income
countries. It has become increasingly apparent for most actors with a vested interest in
development that remittances are an important tool when trying to improve livelihoods in
poor countries.
Therefore, this paper explores the effect of remittances on development in Nepal and
examines the different ways to increase the positive impacts by suggesting concrete policy
reforms and areas of interest to focus on when harnessing remittances. Although the literature
on remittances is vast, most of it is either broad in its scope and focus or narrow case studies
conducted for individual countries or communities within. While these are beneficial for the
literature, and likewise useful for understanding remittances, this paper examines these
findings in the context of Nepal, aiming for specific solutions applicable to the context Nepal
finds itself in. By doing that, this thesis finds concrete avenues of improvement that
policymakers should focus on supporting to increase the positive impact of remittances on
development. Some of the positive effects are poverty reduction, increased resilience against
volatility, increased consumption expenditure, particularly on education and health care,
which results in higher weight-for-age and height-for-age for children in recipient
households, and even knock-on effects on deforestation.
The quality of the institutional framework in place plays a large part in the impact of
remittances. Tailor-made policies can be implemented to amplify the positive effects of
remittances. The suggested areas for policymakers to focus on include human capital,
taxation, financial inclusion through access to banking, and promoting investment. Similarly,
increasing not only the effect but the flow will lead to an overall increase in the positive
effects of remittances. Reducing the costs of transactions for remittances will encourage
greater inflows of remittances. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9132360
- author
- Britton, Jonathan Damkjær LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- A Comprehensive Analysis of Remittances and Their Impact on Nepal's Development
- course
- EKHK18 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9132360
- date added to LUP
- 2023-08-30 08:52:44
- date last changed
- 2023-08-30 08:52:44
@misc{9132360,
abstract = {{Nepal is one of the largest recipients of remittances compared to the size of the economy,
reaching 30,1% of GDP in 2018. This makes understanding them, their effects, and how to
positively impact that an important policy tool. Additionally, remittances outpace both
Official Development Aid and Foreign Direct Investments for Low- and Middle-Income
countries. It has become increasingly apparent for most actors with a vested interest in
development that remittances are an important tool when trying to improve livelihoods in
poor countries.
Therefore, this paper explores the effect of remittances on development in Nepal and
examines the different ways to increase the positive impacts by suggesting concrete policy
reforms and areas of interest to focus on when harnessing remittances. Although the literature
on remittances is vast, most of it is either broad in its scope and focus or narrow case studies
conducted for individual countries or communities within. While these are beneficial for the
literature, and likewise useful for understanding remittances, this paper examines these
findings in the context of Nepal, aiming for specific solutions applicable to the context Nepal
finds itself in. By doing that, this thesis finds concrete avenues of improvement that
policymakers should focus on supporting to increase the positive impact of remittances on
development. Some of the positive effects are poverty reduction, increased resilience against
volatility, increased consumption expenditure, particularly on education and health care,
which results in higher weight-for-age and height-for-age for children in recipient
households, and even knock-on effects on deforestation.
The quality of the institutional framework in place plays a large part in the impact of
remittances. Tailor-made policies can be implemented to amplify the positive effects of
remittances. The suggested areas for policymakers to focus on include human capital,
taxation, financial inclusion through access to banking, and promoting investment. Similarly,
increasing not only the effect but the flow will lead to an overall increase in the positive
effects of remittances. Reducing the costs of transactions for remittances will encourage
greater inflows of remittances.}},
author = {{Britton, Jonathan Damkjær}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{From Remittances to Development: Exploring Nepal's Path to Progress}},
year = {{2023}},
}