Remittances from Immigrants in Norway

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1 Cindy Horst Remittances from Immigrants in Norway Oslo, 16 September 2010 Peace Research Institute Oslo

2 Outline Facts about the Project Output Academic Practical Findings General Illustrations In Conclusion 2

3 Research questions How is the sending of remittances related to integration? How do immigrants choose remittance transfer mechanisms? How are remittances perceived by senders and receivers? How can Norwegian policy better reconcile different interests?

4 Country studies Qualitative study with fieldwork Statistical analysis LKI Market survey

5 RIN at PRIO Staff Members Project Leader: Jørgen Carling Researchers: Marta Bivand Erdal, Cindy Horst Assistants and Coordinators: Karin Fathimath Afeef, Diana Mata Codesal, Rojan Ezzati, Mohamed Husein Gaas, Sadia Jama, Kristian Hoelscher, Idil Osman, Asma Rubab, Qamar Bodla uz-zaman, Hilde Wallacher, Abdullahi Qambi, Jonas Rusten Wang Duration: Security situation in Somalia and Pakistan Delays in LKI data becoming available Great suspicion among Somali and Pakistani community in Norway due to taxi-scandal and hawala arrests Four periods of parental leave divided over the three main researchers 5

6 Academic Output Academic Articles Carling, Jørgen, The Determinants of Migrant Remittances, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 24(3): Horst, Cindy, A Monopoly on Assistance? International Aid to Refugee Camps and the Role of the Diaspora, Afrika Spectrum, 43(1): Book Chapters Horst, Cindy, 2007 The Role of Remittances in the Transnational Livelihood Strategies of Somalis in van Naerssen, Zoomers & Spaan, eds, Global Migration and Development. London: Routledge Carling, Jørgen, 2008, Interrogating Remittances: Core Questions for Deeper Insight and Better Policies in Castles & Delgado Wise, eds, Migration and Development: Perspectives from the South. Geneva: IOM (43 64). 6

7 Other Output Op-eds Horst, Cindy, 'Somaliere i Norge: Krigere eller velgjørere?' [Somalis in Norway: Warriors or Benefactors?], Dagbladet, 18 January. Erdal, Marta Bivand; Mohamed Husein Gaas & Cindy Horst, 'Tvunget til lovbrudd' [Forced to Break the Law], Dagbladet, 2 April. Erdal, Marta Bivand & Cindy Horst, 'Ekskludert fra utvikling?' [Excluded from Development?], Dagsavisen, 29 July. Policy impact Finansportalen.no is developing a price barometer for moneytransfers, similar to sendmoneyhome.org. The Ministry of Finance is implementing an EU directive that will enable greater diversification of money transfer services available legally in Norway 7

8 Findings - General 1. There are widely divergent perspectives on remittances: contribution to development, possible ingredient of criminality or terrorism, possible constraint to integration. Perceptions from senders and receivers need to be taken into account as well. 2. Legal regulations on remittances have been very restrictive in Norway compared to other European countries. This has lead to limited competition and a situation where Somalis cannot send remittances legally. 3. Remittance sending is a sensitive topic that is difficult to get reliable data on. 4. Economic relations to country of origin change over time, as remittances to family members may decrease while investments /philanthropy may increase. 5. Having relatives in conflict areas does not only mean that ongoing support for livelihoods is needed, but also that urgent needs must be met. 8

9 4. Remittance sending patterns change over time Det generelle er at vi har hatt forskjellige perioder i vårt liv. Når vi kom som fremmedarbeider så var det for å jobbe her, ikke leve her. Du levde her fysisk, men mentalt levde du i Pakistan og hele familien, enten det var foreldrene, som du har en forpliktelse ovenfor eller den utvidede familien. Det er den første perioden. Også kom den perioden hvor du plutselig fikk familien over hit. Og da var det ditt ønske og mulighet til å sende penger ned redusert betraktelig slik at du da på en måte prøvde å ta en forbruk her, det betød at du hadde mindre å sende tilbake men også kanskje mindre forpliktelser også bakover, siden man allerede kanskje hadde investert i hus eller i familien tidligere. 9

10 5. Conflict impacts remittance sending patterns What are the reasons for sending remittances? Mostly, this has to do with the culture of assisting each other that Somalis have. Cousins, relatives, neighbours, friends, they all assist. Secondly, religion tells us to assist our relatives. And thirdly, there is a crisis, there are refugee problems. So people assist. If you are in your own country, if you have a job, there is no need to assist. But now, we are refugees and people have to assist. You can imagine the situation for those abroad: they are cutting from their own life and sending it to you. That is life sharing, and very precious It has become a tradition to remit after the collapse of our government. Without a viable infrastructure to support the society, the people are completely dependent on support from their families abroad 10

11 Conclusion The analysis of the data is ongoing and 6 remaining articles are currently being written findings presented are preliminary and partial. There is a great level of policy and media interest in remittances, which has allowed the project to have had practical implications as well. The downside of this has been that collecting data was difficult as (potential) informants were quite sceptical. There is a strong responsibility to contribute to a more balanced debate. Comparing the cases has allowed for a better understanding of remittance sending, with interesting differences appearing in relation to length of stay and conflict/non-conflict settings Similarly, combining quantitative and qualitative data has allowed for a more detailed picture, with both indepth insight into people s individual motivations as well as a better understanding of larger patterns 11

12 Thank you! 12

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