Remittances and searches

Some of you may be interested in economic development in low-income countries, as it relates to some of the topics we will be discussing these weeks. In that vein, one of the big stories in development in recent years is about remittances. These are funds sent "home" by workers residing abroad. Most often, remittances come pass between family members from one earning a wage/salary in a higher-income country to the family in the low-income country. For families, this is obviously a supplemental source of income. From a national or macroeconomic perspective, they are also a source of "hard currency" -- an established, internationally-traded currency such as the dollar, euro, or yen.

Now, say you wanted to write your paper on this. As is often the case, I can link to a recent article in The Economist. But the point I'd like to make with the link here is a slightly different one: because the article piqued my interest, I googled "remittances capital account" and found a few different sources, including this interesting paper. This came after searching and finding similarly interesting material in a couple of other related searches. The lesson, I suppose, is one I have mentioned to several people: persist in trying out different search terms and take some time to sift through the results. (One of the great problems nowadays for me, being accustomed to easy availability of sources, is that I too often don't conduct a thorough search with different search parameters and the like.) If something interests you, find out more about it. It can be done, even if it takes a little extra effort.