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Members of Iraqi diaspora in the democratic countries can play role in democratization in Iraq as part of the bottom-up approach. This thesis is trying to present this role through the experiences of those members who are making regular visits to Iraq, 1 or 2 visits a year since 2003. Thesis studies that, to what extend they were able to transfer cultural capital they obtained from the hosting countries to their country of origin. Throughout the interviews, thesis investigates how much these visitors to Iraq, i.e. members of Iraqis diaspora living in Sweden and Denmark, were able to use religious rituals and political activities to present and transfer this cultural capital. Unstructured meetings have been used to reach out potential interviewees. Then, semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data for the thesis. Theories like transnational migration, social and cultural capital in addition to the concept of Lifestyles have been used to analyze the experiences of the interviewees.Thesis comes up with the arguments that, it is important for the democratization in Iraq to benefit from the cultural capital those members of the Iraqi diaspora possess. Thesis also recommends that, in order to increase the benefit from diaspora, an organized work is needed to be done by formal, semi-formal and non-government organization. Strong and constant links need to be built between the members of Iraqi diaspora and their country of origin.

This dissertation consists of three essays in development economics. The first chapter studies the effects of migrant remittances on economic development and education investments. The second chapter examines the drivers of charitable donations on an online charity platform. The third chapter studies the political economy of education in Indonesia, where the state competes with religious schools to provide education services. In the first chapter, I study the effects of remittances on development indicators and education investments in Indonesian districts. I use the interaction between local outmigration patterns and country-specific exchange rate shocks to identify the effects of remittances. I find that remittances increase household consumption, reduce poverty, and stimulate growth. Remittance recipients are able to send more children to school, thereby prompting district governments to increase public schools at the primary and junior secondary levels. The state also increases provisions of other public goods that complement household investments. These responses to remittances are not driven by electoral concern or the capture of economic gain through taxation, but rather pre-existing policy commitments and changes in government accountability. In the second chapter (joint with Gedeon Lim and Yohanes Eko Riyanto), we study the optimal way to elicit online donations in a developing country setting. We investigate the impact of randomizing choice set size and the randomization of beneficiary characteristics on the propensity and size of donations in the context of a Covid-19 mutual aid platform in Indonesia. We find that users assigned to a smaller choice set of potential beneficiaries are more likely to make a donation. This leads to higher average donations in smaller choice set groups as compared to larger choice set groups. Remarkably, we find no significant decrease in the amount transferred per donation. Our results suggest that donors are susceptible to choice overload. In the third chapter (joint with Samuel Bazzi and Benjamin Marx), we study the competition in the education market between the state and Islam community in Indonesia. We develop a new theoretical framework to understand how states take over education markets at the expense of alternative providers. We apply this model to a primary school expansion policy in 1970s Indonesia that aimed to homogenize and secularize education, at odds with a longstanding and largely informal Islamic school system. Using novel administrative data, we identify dynamic effects of the policy on education markets. Funded through growth in charitable giving and informal taxation, Islamic schools entered new markets, formalized, and introduced more religious curriculum to compete with the state. While primary enrollment shifted towards state schools, religious education increased overall as Islamic secondary schools absorbed increased demand for continued education. Exposed cohorts are not more attached to secular values and instead report greater religiosity. Our findings offer a new perspective on the consequences of education reforms and the persistence of dual institutional systems across numerous settings.

This study examined how remittances from Filipinos living in New Zealand and their Associations and Organizations contributed to community development in the Philippines. It specifically examined the impacts of both individual and collective remittances to the household and community level and on the broader society as a whole. This study also identified the opportunities brought about by Filipino remittances from New Zealand to communities of origin in the Philippines and possible avenues for the enhancement of the impact of these remittances at the local community level and on society. Case study as a research methodology was used in the study in order to have an in depth, more exhaustive and more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. It helped captured the emerging themes of remittance practices and development work of Filipinos and their Associations and Organizations in New Zealand to communities of origin in the Philippines. It also helped understand the phenomenon in the real life context in which a one shot survey or observation failed to capture. The study found that while it was common for overseas Filipinos to send individual remittances to household members in the Philippines for household use and human investments for family members, this was not always the case for Filipinos in New Zealand. Most Filipino migrants in New Zealand had their immediate family living with them in the host country and they sent individual remittances to the Philippines either as gifts for parents to maintain their livelihood, for investment, and support for the education of nephews and nieces. With collective remittances, individual Filipinos and their Associations and Organizations in New Zealand were actively contributing in the pooling of resources for development works in communities of origins in the Philippines. At the same time, they engaged with their recipient communities in the Philippines in order to establish and maintain their transnational ties for effective implementation of development projects in the home country. The study also found that individual remittances coming from New Zealand for family members in the Philippines had a greater impact on the family as a whole. Remittances helped establish income generating activities in the family that have multiplier effects to the family such as a steady source of income, strong purchasing power and extra money for the health and education of children. Individual remittances coming from New Zealand to support the family activities in the community also helped the name of the family in the Philippines in a good stead. On a community level, collective remittances helped maintain culture and tradition as well as raised funds for the implementation of scholarship programs, medical missions, shelter for orphaned children, and basic infrastructures in the community such as school buildings, community roads and multipurpose halls. Collective remittances also built communities and gave recipients hope for a brighter future through equitable housing scheme, community empowerment, health, and education programs. Filipino Associations and Organizations in New Zealand were good vehicles in finding opportunities in their communities of origin. They must engaged with Filipino Associations and Organizations and local business people in their local communities and built partnership with them on community based development projects for the benefit of the wider community.

This study examined how remittances from Filipinos living in New Zealand and their Associations and Organizations contributed to community development in the Philippines. It specifically examined the impacts of both individual and collective remittances to the household and community level and on the broader society as a whole. This study also identified the opportunities brought about by Filipino remittances from New Zealand to communities of origin in the Philippines and possible avenues for the enhancement of the impact of these remittances at the local community level and on society. Case study as a research methodology was used in the study in order to have an in depth, more exhaustive and more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. It helped captured the emerging themes of remittance practices and development work of Filipinos and their Associations and Organizations in New Zealand to communities of origin in the Philippines. It also helped understand the phenomenon in the real life context in which a one shot survey or observation failed to capture. The study found that while it was common for overseas Filipinos to send individual remittances to household members in the Philippines for household use and human investments for family members, this was not always the case for Filipinos in New Zealand. Most Filipino migrants in New Zealand had their immediate family living with them in the host country and they sent individual remittances to the Philippines either as gifts for parents to maintain their livelihood, for investment, and support for the education of nephews and nieces. With collective remittances, individual Filipinos and their Associations and Organizations in New Zealand were actively contributing in the pooling of resources for development works in communities of origins in the Philippines. At the same time, they engaged with their recipient communities in the Philippines in order to establish and maintain their transnational ties for effective implementation of development projects in the home country. The study also found that individual remittances coming from New Zealand for family members in the Philippines had a greater impact on the family as a whole. Remittances helped establish income generating activities in the family that have multiplier effects to the family such as a steady source of income, strong purchasing power and extra money for the health and education of children. Individual remittances coming from New Zealand to support the family activities in the community also helped the name of the family in the Philippines in a good stead. On a community level, collective remittances helped maintain culture and tradition as well as raised funds for the implementation of scholarship programs, medical missions, shelter for orphaned children, and basic infrastructures in the community such as school buildings, community roads and multipurpose halls. Collective remittances also built communities and gave recipients hope for a brighter future through equitable housing scheme, community empowerment, health, and education programs. Filipino Associations and Organizations in New Zealand were good vehicles in finding opportunities in their communities of origin. They must engaged with Filipino Associations and Organizations and local business people in their local communities and built partnership with them on community based development projects for the benefit of the wider community.

Remittances form an important source of revenue for many farm households and rural communities. In spite of their significance, how remittances are expended is not well studied. Neoclassical economic theory indicates that the welfare of recipients unequivocally improves as the household budget line increases. Which new combination of goods, such as production and leisure, is selected on the budget line depends on household and community preferences. The literature suggests many factors influence preferences. The original resource endowment defines production possibilities. Regional economic conditions determine agricultural profitability and alternative investment opportunities. The volume and timing of remittances influence a farmer's willingness to accept risk. Socio-economic survey data from 54 households in the village of El Rosario Micaltepec, Puebla in the Mixteca Baja region illustrate the conditions under which certain households may choose to invest remittances in agricultural production. Data on the activities of the migrant village associations of two villages are used to evaluate the circumstances that favor community investment of migrant-donated funds over their conspicuous consumption.

This master thesis examines migration issues, focuses on the potential of social remittances, and explores the links between social and financial remittances. The qualitative approach to the research uses the method of semi-structured and in-depth interviews to collect the data in the context of Czechs living in the United Kingdom. This research falls under the concept of transnationalism, uses transnational lenses for exploring processes, and is mainly based upon the concept of social remittances, thus is concerned with flows of norms, know-how, systems of practice, ideas, or social capital from one country to another. This thesis also builds on the expanded conceptualization of social remittances by other researchers. Linking social and financial remittances is done by using the concept of remittance scripts and related activities of migrants. Verbal data from the interviews were analyzed using primarily the inducted method and the method of content analysis. The analyzed results meet the aims of the research and bring a deeper understanding of the potential of social remittances. The factors influencing the potential of social remittances are mainly the work environment of migrants, the importance of unskilled positions, social skills, or intensive transnational links. The key role is also...

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Immigrant remittances have received increasing attention over the last couple of decades, due to the substantial financial inflows into developing countries, as their size and impact on the economies have experienced significant growth over a period of time. This study has investigated the relationship between financial development, specifically for the banking sector, and remittances for eight Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries by utilising panel estimation techniques from 1993-2011. In this particular study, the investigation was focused on the association between remittances and the aggregate level of bank deposits (M2) and domestic credit to the private sector that represented financial development. For M2, the results showed that remittances are negatively correlated with money supply and it was not statistically significant for this equation. However, in terms of domestic credit to the private sector, a positive and significant determinant was found for remittances and financial development in these eight Sub-Saharan countries. It is recommended that policymakers should develop and implement sustainable policies to facilitate uninterrupted flow of remittances, strengthen financial institutions and sound macro-economic policies in order to attract more remittances through the banking sector.

L’objectif de cette étude est de mesurer l’impact des envois de fonds extérieurs sur la pauvreté aux Comores. Les envois de fonds à destination des Comores ont été évalués à 117 millions Usd en 2010, représentant ainsi 24 pour cent du PIB. Les envois de fonds sont de loin, la première ressource extérieure des Comores, devant l’Aide publique au développement, qui représente environ 10 pour cent du PIB. Les migrants comoriens qui envoient des fonds sont composés d’une grande majorité d’employés à faible qualification (66 pour cent). Réciproquement, près de la moitié des bénéficiaires, sont issus des classes pauvres. Le « Grand mariage » est le motif principal d’envoi de fonds. Deux méthodes d’analyse ont été développées dans cette étude : l’une descriptive et l’autre économétrique. L’approche économétrique considère les envois de fonds comme une donnée endogène, résultant d’un « contrat implicite » entre les migrants et les bénéficiaires. La conclusion de l’étude est la suivante : les envois de fonds contribuent à une réduction des indices de pauvreté. L’impact sur les inégalités est mitigé. L’incidence de pauvreté (P0) baisse de -3,5 pour cent, sous l’effet des envois de fonds. La profondeur (P1) et la sévérité (P2) baissent respectivement de -7,4 pour cent, et -5,8 pour cent avec les envois de fonds. Les envois de fonds ont plus d’impact sur la pauvreté, pour les catégories des ménages suivantes : celles vivant en milieu rural, celles vivant en Grande Comore, celles dirigées par les femmes, les chômeurs et les inactifs. On observe alors que, ce sont les catégories des ménages qui bénéficient le plus d’envois de fonds en termes de dépenses par tête, qui enregistrent le plus d’impact sur la réduction de la pauvreté. / The target of this study is to measure the impact of the remittances on the poverty. The remittances to Comoros were evaluated to 113 Usd million in 2010, thus representing 24 percent of the GDP. The remittances are by far, the first external resource of the Comoros, in front of public Aid, which represents only approximately 10 percent of the GDP. The Comorian migrants, who send funds, are composed by a great majority of the employees with weak qualification (66 percent). Reciprocally, about half of the recipients, are resulting from the poor classes. The “Grand marriage” is the principal reason for remittances. Two methods of analysis were developed in this study: one descriptive and the other one, econometric. The econometric approach regards the remittances as an endogenous data, resulting from a “implicit contract” between the migrants and the recipients. The conclusion of the study is as follows: the remittances contribute to the reduction of the indices of poverty in Comoros. The effect on the inequalities is mitigated. The incidence of poverty (P0) drops by -3,5 percent, under the effect of the remittances. The depth (P1) and severity (P2) drop respectively by -7,4 percent, and -5,8 percent with the remittances. The remittances have more impact on poverty of the following categories of the households: those alive in rural areas, those alive in Grand Comore, those directed by the women, the unemployeds and the inactives. The categories of the households which are received the most remittances in terms of expenditure per capita, records the most impact on poverty reduction.

The remittances or money transfers sent by migrants to the country of origin are considered to be one of the welfare channels with potential to influence macroeconomics indicators. The aim of this thesis is to analyse migration and remittance behaviour of Ukrainian migrants in the context of the EU. Study is based on the questionnaire survey inspired by the similar projects in the Latin America and Mexico. Contribution of the thesis lies in the detailed analysis of the topic that separates different forms of remittances. The econometric model consists of statistical summary of the data and three hypotheses tests focusing on the probability and amount remitted; consumption behaviour and probability of getting skilled position. According to findings, probability and amount remitted is determined by demographic factors and direction of effects differs in the case of regularly and one- time payments. Altruism and business financing are primary motives to remit. Remittances appear to be transferred by informal channels into the productive forms of consumption. A procurement of skilled position is positively influenced by human capital factors but also reflects labour market situation in the destination country. JEL Classification C31,C35,C51,C52, C83, E21, E27, F24, F22, J15, J24, J61, Y10 Keywords...