ABSTRACT
The (re)discovery of the magnitude of migrants’ remittances has been a key factor in reviving discussions about migration and development and is instrumental in the shift toward a more optimistic view of the development impacts of migration. According to the World Bank, remittance transfers at the global level dramatically increased from US$102 billion in 1995 to about US$232 billion in 2005. During the same period, remittances to developing countries went up from 57% (US $58 billion) in 1995 to 72% (US $167 billion) in 2005 (United Nations, 2006 p. 54). The Philippines, with more than three decades of sustained labour migration, fi gures among the major recipients of remittances. In 2004, it ranked fi fth after India, China, Mexico, and France in terms of remittance receipts (United Nations, 2006: 54, Table 11).2
