remittance economy

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

an economy in which remittances — money sent home by citizens working abroad — constitute a significant and in some cases dominant source of foreign exchange, household income, and investment; in Africa, countries including Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Somalia, Morocco, and Egypt receive remittances that exceed official development assistance and in some cases foreign direct investment; remittances are considered more stable than commodity revenues, reach households directly rather than through government budgets, and are associated with investment in children's education and health; their primary limitations include high transaction costs, dependence on the economic conditions of host countries, and concerns about brain drain as skilled workers migrate in search of the wages needed to remit significant amounts