Subjectively-assessed Welfare and International Remittances: Evidence from Tonga
利用汤加家庭调查数据，研究移民汇款如何响应收款人的主观福利需求，发现汇款对贫困家庭具有社会保障作用，但对非贫困家庭的影响更复杂。
Abstract Using data from a customised household survey in Tonga we assess the responsiveness of migrants' remittances to perceived needs of recipients. We extend a mixed-motives model, incorporating subjectively-assessed recipient welfare. We find evidence supportive of altruism for households below a subjective threshold, implying that remittances provide important social protection for the poor. We also find a positive relationship for those above the threshold implying that welfare improvements in migrant-sending countries could increase or decrease remittance flows depending on pre-transfer welfare level. The effects of remittances on poverty alleviation and income distribution are hence more complex and ambiguous than previous studies suggest.