Remittances Data Quality: A review in progress Evis Rucaj, consultant, World Bank

Content Remittances flows – Background Remittances within the BoP framework Data Discrepancies Key problems

Remittances flows

Remittance flows (1)

Remittance flows (2) Top remittances-receiver as % of GDP

Remittances (3) Top remittances-sender countries

Impact of Crisis on Remittances Source: Migration and Development Brief 8 for the methodology for the estimates for 2008 and forecasts for 2009 and 2010

Remittances within the BoP framework Remittance flows are usually measured through BoP statistics Old definition: –Remittances are usually the sum of a few BoP items workers remittance compensation of employees migrant transfers, –The migration status of a remitter is critical to measurement of remittance flows New definition: Replace workers’ remittances with personal transfers personal remittance total remittance total remittance and transfers to NPISHs –Remove “migrants transfers” and the concept of migrant from the BOP framework –Replace migration status with residence status

Data Discrepancies Global Discrepancies (inflows-outflows) Bilateral Data Asymmetries Discrepancies between IMF and WB remittances data

Global Discrepancies Source: World Bank staff estimates and the International Monetary Fund's Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook 2008.

Key problems Sender vs. Receiver countries Metadata issues –Concepts and definition inconsistency –Compilation procedures Threshold Data sources Estimation of informality

Bilateral Asymmetries A few or no bilateral data No comparison framework –Different channels –Representation of the migration

IMF vs. WB remittances data

Key issues Different methodologies –IMF: no filling in the missing of the data –11% of the countries do not report remittances to the IMF –Many countries report data to the IMF with a time lag of at least two years –IMF yearbook lags one year