Remittances account for roughly a third of the economy of Laos

Date: Feb 17, 2010

Remittances account for roughly a third of the economy of Laos

Date: Feb 17, 2010

In 2008, immigrants worldwide sent nearly $400 billion to family members in their homelands. Between one-quarter and one-half of the total amount of global remittances in 2008 came from the United States.

Remittances have become crucial, not only to people who receive them, but to the economies of many countries:

* Remittances account for roughly a third of the economy of Tajikistan and Laos, for instance, one-fifth in El Salvador and Honduras, and more than 10 percent in the Philippines.

* In 2008, Asia received the largest sum of remittances, with 46 percent of worldwide money sent by immigrants going there, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean, which received 20 percent.

* Remittances to Mexico have the greatest impact in poorer southern Mexican states, where up to 80 percent of the funds received go toward such things as food and clothing. Remittances to Mexico were expected to decrease by about 9 percent in 2009.

* Remittances decline when the sender lives in a struggling economy, but they rarely disappear altogether. Remittance research estimates that in 2009, 40 percent of unemployed immigrants did not send money to relatives. A quarter of those who were employed were expected to reduce the amount sent back home by 10 percent.

Source: Immigration Policy Center, Special Report, "Many Happy Returns: Remittances and Their Impact" (February 2010)

— Elizabeth Llorente

Date: Feb 17, 2010

Anonymous wrote:

Immigrants sent nearly $4B home in 2008

http://www.northjersey.com/news/national/84432607_Immigrants_sent_nearly__4B_home_in_2008.html

Who says Lao nork doesn't contribute to Laos economy? I saw someone here disputed this fact before.

That is how to keep their families and relative to survive in Laos by sending the money to support their families . Also more and more Laotian fled Laos to Thailand and to the first world countries to work because they could not be employed by the foreign companies and also not enough jobs in Laos.

Dark Angel · Guru

There are a lot of of money come into Laos from Lao nork tourists as well.

BingBing · Veteran Member

If the Laos Gov. be smart about doing business instead of isolating Lao people. Laos would of have been grown by now.

I asked the Laos Government please accept the LaoNork and open up to the West for Lao people. This the only way for Lao people to survive and build our people image in South East Asia. LaoNark are ready to work with our people in Laos, but LaoNai must understand to move forward and not to hold down our people moral or judgment against us.

Date: Feb 23, 2010

Immigrant and refugee are not the same thing. Read the news article again. I did not say anything about Lao Refugee.

im·mi·grant
/ˈɪmɪgrənt/ Show Spelled[im-i-gruhnt] Show IPA
–noun
1.
a person who migrates to another country, usually for permanent residence.

ref·u·gee
/ˌrɛfyʊˈdʒi, ˈrɛfyʊˌdʒi/ Show Spelled[ref-yoo-jee, ref-yoo-jee] Show IPA
–noun
1.
a person who flees for refuge or safety, esp. to a foreign country, as in time of political upheaval, war, etc.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/refugee

Anonymous wrote:
Immigrants sent nearly $4B home in 2008

http://www.northjersey.com/news/national/84432607_Immigrants_sent_nearly__4B_home_in_2008.html

Who says Lao nork doesn't contribute to Laos economy? I saw someone here disputed this fact before.

Date: Feb 23, 2010

Give the LaoNork the right to own land you will see how
good the laos economy would be. I mean what you got
to loose? The government will get the money from selling
the land to LaoNork. The Local workers such as carpenters,
brick layers, manual laborers will all benefit from an initial
of building of the house. That's not all the local and the
state government will benefit from collecting yearly taxes
for as long as the LaosNork is still owning the property.
Come-on! what you got to loose?.

eye_sky · Guru

That's pretty much the same situation as other countries from Asia. Remittances help a lot.

http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/02/spellbinding-tokyo-japan-through-my.html

Date: Feb 23, 2010

Lao government have very things as products or goods to export but Beer Lao and timbers and the most benefit to the country is people who go to Thailand and Lao nork who sending back the money to their families in Laos which make the Lao economy moving. Almost every Lao nork still have families and relatives in Laos. So why shouldn't they care about what have been happening in Laos.