Tajik labor migrants and their international money transfers

Abstract

During the four years since 2006, Tajikistan, еhe former Soviet republic, has been the world leader in receiving remittances as part of the GDP. However, despite the fact that over time there is growing interest due to the migration and remittances, few researchers pay attention to this region. In this paper, we use the results of the survey of families conducted in two different years to assess income of the families in Tajikistan and international labor migration of the Tajiks, and examine the relationship between income of the families in Tajikistan, the poorest of the former Soviet republics, and the remittances received from the international labor migrants, as well as the possibility of migration growth. No correlation was found between the level of family income and the amount of money sent from abroad, raising concerns about the altruistic models of the relationship between migration and remittances. Moreover, it also found that households with higher incomes are more able to supply workers, which shows that international labor migration from Tajikistan may not contribute to the Tajik migration of poor.