Migration, Family Remittances, Assets and Skills Categories in Bangladesh

For countries like Bangladesh whose economies are tied to international labour migration, the nexus between remittances, asset-building and gender is of great relevance to economic development. This report finds that a focus on migrants’ job skills and their families’ assets back home offers opportunities to contribute to conditions that increase household financial stability and investment in education and health. It also emphasizes the importance of gender-specific interventions given the role women play as remittance recipients and household heads.   

Policymakers in Bangladesh have recognized the role of international labour migration in the country’s fast economic modernization and its importance to job and wealth generation strategies. This report has generated some findings and few recommendations are drawn from these findings to help the policymakers in finding the best ways to align evidence with economic development. From a policy perspective, fostering financial independence among migrants’ wives, mothers and fathers should be a primary target of interventions for economic development in Bangladesh. These interventions could positively impact wealth generation and economic development at the national level, particularly when considering economies of scale and replicable, commensurable, and sustainable strategies.