Remittance behaviours of foreigners in Italy

Abstract

This paper intends to figure out why immigrants remit, what characteristics they have and, in particular, which of these individual characteristics influence (and in what sense) their remittance behaviours. In particular, it aims to verify the existence of a "time effect" during the migration process. The time effect supposes that the propensity and amount of remittances become less consistent as far as the immigrant integrates into the host country and the ties with the country of origin become less intense. In practice, according to this hypothesis, the evolution of the migration plan towards stabilisation in the new country, rather than to return home, would lead the migrant to invest more humanly and economically in the host country, while reducing his emotional and economic commitment to the family left in the country of origin. We use the 2009 IT-Silc survey "Reddito e condizioni di vita delle famiglie con stranieri" covering around 6,000 households with at least one foreigner member. This survey provides many details on foreigner's characteristics, remittances attitudes and return plans, and allows us also to consider the composition of the family both in place of origin and of destination. Propensity to remit and amount of remittances are both analysed through the application of a zero/one inflated beta model.