El impacto de las remesas en Guatemala: ¿alivio de la pobreza o factor de desarrollo?

Abstract

Since remittances are a common phenomenon in Latin America,, politicians, academics and international organizations have been interested to better understand the impact of remittances on development in this part of the world. This article shows the economic and social consequences of these financial transfers in the case of Guatemala, which, because of a significant emigration to the United States, is one of the key countries to receive remittances. In order to comply with its objective, the paper describes Guatemalan emigrants who send remittances, the general profile of households which receive those transfers and the way their money is spent. The paper argues that remittances constitute a significant help to poor families as they allow them to increase their basic consumption as well as their access to education and health. However, the impact of remittances on national development remains unclear, since it is still necessary to better establish not only which factors favor the use of remittances for productive activities, but also the limitation of the process in question. Finally, this paper discusses the position of the Guatemalan State with regards to its citizen’s emigration and the issue of public policies on migration and remittances.