How migrant remittances respond to homeland crises: the case of Cabo Verde and its emigrants

ABSTRACT

Many countries rely on the cash and non-cash remittances their migrants abroad send back. But do migrants increase or decrease these remittances in times of socioeconomic crises back home? This study examines the remittance behaviour of Cabo Verdean migrants in response to economic shocks and natural disasters back in their homeland. With one of the highest migration rates in the world, Cabo Verde’s migrants, and the money and goods they send back, have been vital in the past. Facing socioeconomic distress from the 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic, how migrants behave in times of crisis is a critical and urgent question. The study finds that Cabo Verde’s migrants increase their remittances during every major episode of economic crisis, including the COVID-19 global pandemic. The increases are substantial compared to remittance patterns before and after the crisis. The analysis, however, also points to the changing nature of migrant ties to the homeland.

KEYWORDS:

• Cabo Verde
• remittances
• migration
• transnationalism
• cyclicality
• diaspora

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Unless otherwise noted, the study relies on data from various statistical publications of the central bank, BCV.

2 The National Institute of Statistics (INE – Instituto Nacional de Estatística) has occasionally included migration related questions is its census and other surveys. Most of its recent publications on migration focus on immigration, while conceptually treating emigration to include students studying abroad. These publications give us some insights, but have been neither consistent nor focused specifically on emigration or remittances. The 2010 Census queried households about their principal sources of income, and included emigrant family members among the responses. Yet this does not give us sufficient insight into what percentage of households are affected by emigration nor what percentage receive remittances in some form or channels from both family and friends abroad.

3 Ghosh (2006, 64) reports high remittance volatility for Cabo Verde.

4 BCV and the World Bank report contradictory figures for 2001–2002.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

João Resende-Santos

João Resende-Santos is Associate Professor of International Studies at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. He received his PhD in Political Science from Harvard University, Department of Government. His teaching and current research areas include international relations, US foreign policy, Cabo Verde foreign relations, political economy of Cabo Verde, and diaspora engagement. He is currently working on two book projects on Cabo Verde's foreign relations after independence and another on US foreign policy during decolonization in Portuguese Africa. He is a 2024 recipient of the US Fulbright Scholar award. He has extensive practitioner experience in Cabo Verde in government and higher education. The views and analysis expressed in this study are exclusively his own and do not represent the viewpoints, claims, policies or beliefs of any organization or individuals.