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On altruism and remittances

Author

Listed:
  • Alexis Antoniades
  • Ganesh Seshan
  • Roberto A. Weber
  • Robertas Zubrickas

Abstract

We provide a direct test of the impact of altruism on remittances. From a sample of 105 male migrant workers from Kerala, India working in Qatar, we elicit the propensity to share with others from their responses in a dictator game, and use it as a proxy for altruism. When the entire sample is considered, we find that only migrants' income robustly explains remittances. Altruism does not seem to matter. However, we document a strong positive relationship between altruism and remittances for those migrants that report a loan obligation back home, which is nearly half the sample. We explain the role of loan obligations with a standard remittance model, extended with reference-dependent preferences.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexis Antoniades & Ganesh Seshan & Roberto A. Weber & Robertas Zubrickas, 2013. "On altruism and remittances," ECON - Working Papers 131, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    • Handle: RePEc:zur:econwp:131
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Remittances; altruism; reference-dependent preferences; dictator game; Qatar;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty

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