Optimising remittances

The crisis of finance capital would have been much worse than what is being currently witnessed but for the crutches provided by workers’ remittances which accounted for $29 billion in 2022. The cyclic crises have become more frequent and generally occur every two to three years as in the case of Pakistan, instead of once in a decade universally observed not very long ago. Remittances somewhat tend to check the freefall of the rupee and its depreciating purchasing power against the dollar that fuel cost-push inflation by pushing up prices of imported foodstuff and industrial raw materials and inputs. The import bill remains much in excess of export earnings and is substantially financed by remittances. Remittances also serve as a tool for poverty alleviation. The recipient households, spread over the entire country, use the money in mainly meeting essentials of life such as providing better education for their children and health facilities for the family. They buy home appliances and invest in plots and housing/flats.