This Task Force Report is the outcome of an interdisciplinary research project
organized by the Boston University Center for Finance, Law & Policy, in collaboration
with The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range
Future. The purpose of the Task Force was to research, analyze, and propose
policy recommendations regarding the role of remittances in post-conflict environments
and their potential to serve as a major source of development funds.
The Report’s authors collectively suggest a broader approach to remittance institutions
that provides flexibility to adapt to specific local practices and to make
broader institutional connections in an era of growing population displacement
and expanding human and capital flows. Conditions for more productive utilization
of migrants’ remittances are analyzed while drawing upon case studies from
post-conflict countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Migrant remittances play an increasingly central role in post-conflict reconstruction
and national development of conflict-affected states. Violent conflicts and
prolonged ethnic and religious hostilities lead to population displacement; the
livelihoods of those left behind vitally depend on remittance transfers. Private
remittances are of central importance for restoring stability and enhancing
human security in post-conflict countries. Yet the dynamics of conflict-induced
remittance flows and the possibilities of leveraging remittances for post-conflict
development have been very sparsely researched to date. Remittance flows often
face severe obstacles in conflict-affected environments, including poor integration
with the formal economy and unnecessarily strict regulations.
The papers in this Task Force Report establish the vital importance of remittances
for sustaining local livelihoods as well as rehabilitating institutional
infrastructures and improving financial inclusion in post-conflict environments.
Drawing upon existing networks of social support and interacting with a variety
of local institutions, remittance flows can enable connections between diverse
organizations and networks, fostering local entrepreneurship and empowerment.
Highlighting the increasing complexity of global remittance systems, the
Report examines the growing informality of conflict-induced remittance flows
and explores solutions for more efficient linkages between financial institutions
of different scales and degrees of formality. It discusses challenges to regulating
international remittance transfers in the context of growing concerns about
transparency. The collection of papers establishes the increasing role of diaspora
2 A Pardee Center Task Force Report | October 2013
networks and migrant associations in post-conflict co-development initiatives,
and the growing importance of social remittances in the form of skills, knowledge,
and expertise.
The discussions highlight the role of remittances in building local resilience to
diverse forms of humanitarian crises. Because of their centrality to many social
and economic institutions, post-conflict remittance flows are increasingly critical
to all aspects of human security and peace-building for the longer-term. The
Report outlines the main challenges to leveraging remittances for post-conflict
development and makes recommendations for further research and policy
applications. It suggests that remittances are indispensable for achieving human
empowerment and agency that promote an improved future for many communities
devastated by violent conflict.