Discussions of migration and remittances often revolve around statistics that illustrate the sheer scale of migrants (231 million in 2013) or money flows ($404 billion that same year). But each one of the 231 million migrants is a person who leaves family members, friends, and the familiarity of their culture, and many of them retain strong ties with their home communities, sending money but also exchanging information. Sociologist Peggy Levitt studies these information flows and refers to them as social remittances. Social remittances are “defined as ideas, know-how, practices, and skills that shape their encounters with and integration into their host societies…and promote and impede development in their countries of origin.” They can come in the form of norms, practices, social capital, and identities. Unlike their monetary counterparts, social remittances are difficult to quantify and not yet well understood . . .
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Ten years ago, FAI managing director Tim Ogden published Experimental Conversations, a collection of interviews with economists and other people who critique, promote, and use randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in development economics. One of the interviewees was Michael Kremer, a pioneer of the movement, now a Nobel laureate, and recently appointed Chief Economist of the World Bank.
Editor's Note:
If you were hoping that the faiV would be a pleasant distraction from the overwhelming flow of AI-related content, sorry. For the record, the faiV had “ai” built in before Anthropic existed. And a housekeeping note: we’ve finally jumped ship from Mailchimp to NYU’s mailing platform—I guess if you’re reading this it’s been a seamless transition and if you’re not, well, you’re not. Feedback on the faiV’s content and format and delivery methods is always welcome, just drop me an email.
- Tim Ogden
Editor’s Note: I’m going to assume that you are seeing plenty of AI content (news and papers, not AI slop, though I’m sure you’re getting plenty of that too) from other sources, so I’m trying to think hard about the marginal value that the faiV can provide. As far as I’ve gotten so far: a) make sure that directly AI-related content does not take up more than 2 of the 5 items, and b) try to focus specifically on the cybersecurity issue for financial inclusion. Beyond that, I’m open to feedback on the value you get from the faiV in relation to AI to help guide us in the future. On a different note, I’ll be making a brief cameo appearance at the e-MFP Inclusive Finance Conference to moderate the opening plenary. If you haven’t registered, do so and I hope to see you there! - Tim Ogden