Remittances, poverty reduction and the informalisation of household wellbeing in Zimbabwe,

Abstract

This report is a summary of the data collected in fieldwork for an overall research project on the poverty reducing effects of migrant remittances, and their effects on the informalisation of economy and society1. The research seeks to explore the extent to which migrant remittance transfers affect poverty with particular reference to the medium of the informal economy. In particular, it is concerned to identify the forms and extent of informal market relationships which are liquidated by remittance income, and which are the medium of travel for its economic circulation. As a corollary it seeks to also estimate the 'in-kind' transfers which substitute for pecuniary transactions. The research thus adds to the growing literature on the importance of migrant remittances in terms of deepening our understanding of the importance of informal and in kind transfers to poverty reduction.