Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Latin Americans in U.S. Sending $30 Billion Home in 2004
(Survey finds more money transfers being sent as service fees decrease)
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Latin American immigrants living in the United States will send an estimated $30 billion back to their home countries in 2004, says the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The estimate, based on U.S. census data and the results of a new survey of Latin Americans in 37 U.S. states, said about 10 million of the 16.7 million Latin American-born adults in the United States send money regularly to their families abroad. The survey was commissioned by the IDB's Multilateral Investment Fund and conducted by the Miami polling firm of Bendixen & Associates.
In a break from previous surveys on the topic, the new survey found a great number of people who send money transfers (also known as remittances) more than once a month, which probably reflects the fact that service fees for sending money abroad have become cheaper over the past few years.
Nearly eight in 10 remittance-senders use money-transfer companies. Others use informal couriers, banks and credit unions, or regular mail.
Even as immigrants send billions of dollars south of the U.S. border, the survey found that Latin American immigrants contribute an estimated $450 billion to the U.S. economy, often doing jobs spurned by others.
"The dramatic growth of international remittances is testimony to the hard work and commitment of migrant workers seeking better lives for themselves and their families," said the IDB's Donald Terry at a news conference in Washington, where the findings were released. He added that the growth also "reflects the increasing integration of labor markets across national borders, as the economies of developed countries require the skills and dedication of workers from other countries."
That thought also was echoed by the U.S. Treasury Department's Deputy Secretary Samuel Bodman, who said in May 17 remarks that remittances have become a significant force in the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean. In recent years, "these flows have been over five times the volume of official development assistance" to the region, he said.
Bodman delivered his remarks at an IDB conference on remittances, which took place after the news conference. He said that since 1995, annual remittances from the United States have nearly doubled, due to technological advances in communication and data transfer -- and a surge in labor mobility.
Bodman said the United States remains committed to working with the IDB to achieve the Summit of the Americas goal of cutting in half the average cost of remittance fees in the region by 2008.
The IDB survey said that although U.S. states with large Hispanic populations are still the leading sources of remittances, significant amounts also are flowing from states that are not traditionally associated with Latin American migration.
The survey found that California, New York, Texas and Florida -- states with large Latin American populations -- lead the rankings for remittances. But also in the top 10 for remittances are Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, states where immigrants have found jobs in such industries as poultry processing, meat-packing, hotels, restaurants, and construction. Remittances from the Mid-Atlantic region (Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia) are over $1 billion a year, sent mainly to countries in Central America and Mexico.
According to the IDB's Donald Terry, remittances could be a key to "financial democracy" in Latin America, where he said banks have traditionally been accessible almost exclusively to upper and middle-class clients.]]>
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(Survey finds more money transfers being sent as service fees decrease)
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Latin American immigrants living in the United States will send an estimated $30 billion back to their home countries in 2004, says the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The estimate, based on U.S. census data and the results of a new survey of Latin Americans in 37 U.S. states, said about 10 million of the 16.7 million Latin American-born adults in the United States send money regularly to their families abroad. The survey was commissioned by the IDB's Multilateral Investment Fund and conducted by the Miami polling firm of Bendixen & Associates.
In a break from previous surveys on the topic, the new survey found a great number of people who send money transfers (also known as remittances) more than once a month, which probably reflects the fact that service fees for sending money abroad have become cheaper over the past few years.
Nearly eight in 10 remittance-senders use money-transfer companies. Others use informal couriers, banks and credit unions, or regular mail.
Even as immigrants send billions of dollars south of the U.S. border, the survey found that Latin American immigrants contribute an estimated $450 billion to the U.S. economy, often doing jobs spurned by others.
"The dramatic growth of international remittances is testimony to the hard work and commitment of migrant workers seeking better lives for themselves and their families," said the IDB's Donald Terry at a news conference in Washington, where the findings were released. He added that the growth also "reflects the increasing integration of labor markets across national borders, as the economies of developed countries require the skills and dedication of workers from other countries."
That thought also was echoed by the U.S. Treasury Department's Deputy Secretary Samuel Bodman, who said in May 17 remarks that remittances have become a significant force in the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean. In recent years, "these flows have been over five times the volume of official development assistance" to the region, he said.
Bodman delivered his remarks at an IDB conference on remittances, which took place after the news conference. He said that since 1995, annual remittances from the United States have nearly doubled, due to technological advances in communication and data transfer -- and a surge in labor mobility.
Bodman said the United States remains committed to working with the IDB to achieve the Summit of the Americas goal of cutting in half the average cost of remittance fees in the region by 2008.
The IDB survey said that although U.S. states with large Hispanic populations are still the leading sources of remittances, significant amounts also are flowing from states that are not traditionally associated with Latin American migration.
The survey found that California, New York, Texas and Florida -- states with large Latin American populations -- lead the rankings for remittances. But also in the top 10 for remittances are Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, states where immigrants have found jobs in such industries as poultry processing, meat-packing, hotels, restaurants, and construction. Remittances from the Mid-Atlantic region (Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia) are over $1 billion a year, sent mainly to countries in Central America and Mexico.
According to the IDB's Donald Terry, remittances could be a key to "financial democracy" in Latin America, where he said banks have traditionally been accessible almost exclusively to upper and middle-class clients.]]>
NNNN ¶ 3:26 AM
