Seminar

When the Money Stops: Declines in Financial Remittances and Incumbent Approval in Central Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia

Catherine De Vries (University of Essex)

March 16, 2018, 11:30–12:30

Toulouse

Room MF323

Abstract

Fluctuations in the volume and the value of financial remittances received from abroad affect the livelihood of households in developing economies across the world. Yet, political scientists have little to say about how declines in remittances, as opposed to the receipt of remittance payments alone, affect recipients’ political attitudes and behavior. Relying on a unique four-wave panel study of Kyrgyz citizens between 2010-2013 and a cross-sectional sample of 28 countries in Central Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, we show that when people experience a decline in remittances, they become less satisfied about their household economic situation, and misattribute responsibility to the incumbent at home. Our findings advance the literature on the political consequences of remittance payments and suggest that far from exclusively being an international risk-sharing mechanism for the developing world, remittances could also increase political volatility in recipient countries.

 

Catherine de Vries works as a Professor of Politics in the Department of Government at the University of Essex and serve as the Director of the Essex Centre for Experimental Social Sciences.

Her webpage

Reference

Catherine De Vries (University of Essex), When the Money Stops: Declines in Financial Remittances and Incumbent Approval in Central Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, IAST General Seminar, Toulouse: IAST, March 16, 2018, 11:30–12:30, room MF323.