Remittances and Children's Rights: an Overview of Academic and Policy Literature
Author(s): R. Cortes
The report comprises a desk review of academic and policy literature dealing with social impacts of remittances in developing countries. The paper shows that while there is a wide range of literature available on the economic dimensions of remittances, there is not much research done on remittances' impacts on children and children's rights. So far it has been acknowledged that migration and remittances are closely linked; some studies have shown that remittances' flows may contribute positively to the child's basic material welfare, but also that the migration of one or both parents jeopardizes children's integral development. In addition there is also a range of negative effects of migration on children and adolescents highlighted in the field reports and several anthropological case-studies. These impacts include psychological effects of one or both parents' migration, the lack of parental guidance and the risk of bad school performance. Furthermore, remittance flows can increase income inequalities among households within communities, and can also put pressure upon non migrant households to send members abroad.