Determinants of workers' remittances: Turkish evidence from high-frequency data

Abstract

The potential importance of workers remittances (WR) as a relatively stable source of foreign exchange has been growing across the world. We present time-series evidence on the determinants of WR in a large developing country, Turkey. Using yearly data, Aydas et al. (2005) show that WR flows to Turkey are significantly influenced by the growth rate of the home gross domestic product (GDP); the level of GDP in both home and host countries; interest rate differentials between home and host countries; the black market exchange rate; inflation; and political stability. This study utilizes higher-frequency data to further investigate the issue from both long-term and short-term perspectives. The new evidence supports the earlier findings regarding the long-run investment motive, but it also shows that consumption smoothing is an effective short-run motive for sending remittances to Turkey. © 2006 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All rights reserved.