جریان حواله ها و توسعه مالی در بنگلادش

Workers' remittance is a major source of foreign exchange earnings and plays an important role in the economy of Bangladesh. It accounts for 12% of GDP in 2010. This paper examines with annual data for 1971–2008, whether the flow of remittances is contributing positively to the development of the financial system of the country. Our results suggest that remittances have a significant positive effect on financial development. However, financial sector's development is neutral in its effect on the inflow of remittances.

Cross border movement of labour in search of employment and remitting labour income back to the country of origin is not a new phenomenon. Globalisation from the mid 1980s has renewed a rapid increase in the total number of migrant workers and the inflow of remittances. In 2010, the global flow of remittances exceeded $440 billion compared to a mere $18 billion in 1980. It is believed that a large part of the flow of remittances remains unrecorded which could be as large as 20 to 200% of the officially recorded remittances (Aggarwal et al., 2006, Bangladesh Bank, 2011 and Choucri, 1986). USA is the topmost source of remittances followed by Saudi Arabia and about US$75 billion remittances have originated from these two countries in 2009. Developing countries received about 75% of all remittances and supplied 80% of the global migrant workers in 2010. Workers' remittances are the second largest source of foreign exchange earnings and exceeded private capital flows and foreign aid to most developing countries (World Bank, 2011).

Workers' remittance is the second largest sources of foreign exchange earnings and is over 12% of GDP of Bangladesh. In spite of this, its contribution to the financial sector development remains unexplored. Our results suggest that the increasing flow of remittances is positively and significantly expanding and deepening the financial sector of Bangladesh. Our results are robust, and conform to the existing literature using different specifications. Our results also indicate that the flow of remittances is independent of financial development of the country while testing for endogeneity bias for reverse causation. Since it is evidenced by the study that the flow of remittances is significantly enhancing all three measures of financial development, it is imperative for the policy makers to formulate and implement policies to encourage the migrant workers to remit through formal financial system which can be diverted to much needed productive investment ventures.