Pardee-CFLP-Remittances-TF-Report

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Section III: Diaspora Networks andCo-Development5. Mobile Remittances: A Novel Tool forPost-Conflict Development?Daivi Rodima-TaylorThe use of novel information and communication technologies (ICT) has becomeincreasingly widespread in remittance transfers in many developing countries.That applies particularly to diversifying mobile service platforms. It has beenestimated that developing countries account for approximately two-thirds ofthe world’s mobile subscriptions (OECD 2009, 14). In Sub-Saharan Africa wherethere are some of the lowest levels of infrastructure investments in the world,the use of mobile telephones is rapidly expanding—there are 10 times as manymobile phones as land-lines and 60 percent of the population has mobile coverage(Aker and Mbiti 2010, 207). Mobile phones are increasingly evolving from“simple communication tools” to complex “service delivery platforms” (208) thatenable marginalized populations access to diverse mobile money services anddevelopment projects (m-money and m-development). Used increasingly forfinancial transfers, mobile phones enable “affordable financial services for thefirst time to many people withextremely limited means, whileoffering them greater securityand efficiency than traditionalalternatives” (OECD 2009: 19).Mobile telecommunications contributeto better access to information, improvedconnectivity within social networks, andenhanced security.Mobile telecommunications contribute to better access to information, improvedconnectivity within social networks, and enhanced security. They have facilitatedvast reduction in communication costs and that has improved marketefficiency and enhanced economic production in many developing areas (Jensen2007; Aker 2010).Mobile remittances, development, and post-conflictcommunitiesMobile technology has the potential to reshape social and economic relationsin local communities, creating novel networks and enabling new modes ofmoney and information transfer that is important both for governance as well aseconomic development initiatives. Mobile-based applications are widely used inRemittance Flows to Post-Conflict States: Perspectives on Human Security and Development 89
public governance in many places in Africa (e-governance), allowing people betteraccess to information and decision-making, particularly at local and municipallevels. ICT-based applications are used widely for diverse services such asprocessing business applications; customs clearance; citizen and electoral registration;tax, financial, land and human resource management (Waema and Adera2011). While amplifying social interactions and frequently enabling better statesocietyintegration, the use of mobile technology for local governance can alsocreate alternative and informal structures outside formal governance (Graesholm2012). Mobile technologies are also significant in facilitating alternative economicinstitutions. According to Molony (2009), informal entrepreneurs and markettraders in Tanzania rely almost exclusively on mobile phones for maintainingtheir networks and expanding customer base. Mobile applications can be crucialfor building trust and relations of production in the local informal economy,creating novel types of social capital that are more impersonal and maintainedthrough information and communication technologies—“socio-technical capital”(Molony 2009). Mobile technologies have potential to create new relationshipsin the local communities, and re-ordering social and economic hierarchies insociety (De Bruijn, Nyamnjoh, and Brinkman 2009, 21).Mobile phone-based financial applications are particularly important in postconflictcontexts that are frequently characterized by a systemic breakdownof telecommunication, transport, and market infrastructures. Communicationamong the people of a nation is of crucial importance for sustainable peacebuildingand post-conflict rehabilitation, and modern information and communicationtechnologies can serve as tools of national reconciliation and development(Best 2010). In many post-conflict communities, mobile phones are theonly means of communication and security. In post-conflict Liberia with devastatedfixed-line telecommunications infrastructure, a vibrant mobile phone sectorwith several competitive operators emerged, enabling increased productivityand more efficient business strategies among local farmers and entrepreneurs(Best 2010). A similar situation was observed with mobile telecommunicationservices among micro-entrepreneurs in post-conflict Rwanda (Donner 2004). Andin Somalia, satellite communications (VSAT) infrastructure emerged and operatedin a largely self-regulated fashion in local war-torn communities, providingproductive and innovative business opportunities for local entrepreneurs (Feldman2007). There, remittances sent through informal transfer systems such ashawala provided a particularly strong incentive for the development of a strongtelecommunications infrastructure (see also “’Informal’ Remittance Systems and90 A Pardee Center Task Force Report | October 2013
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Pardee Center TASK FORCE Report oct
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This series of papers, Pardee Cente
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AcknowledgementsThis Task Force on
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ITU International Telecommunication
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networks and migrant associations i
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to developing countries than other
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But most importantly, remittances a
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often mix in the countries of desti
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According to the World Bank estimat
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Because of its focus on the multidi
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eceiving remittances provides an en
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associations for post-conflict inst
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are proposed to avoid the associate
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Terry, D. 2005. Remittances as a De
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oader approach to post-conflict rem
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networks can be seen as “homogeno
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That personalized nature of hawala
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Customary law (xeer) and other trad
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the world (Lindley 2009, 531). Much
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ize the informal equal efforts to a
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struction and development. Means sh
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opportunities should focus on exist
Page 46 and 47: 2. Dodd-Frank Act and Remittances t
Page 48 and 49: leadership. Formal payments systems
Page 50 and 51: and financial institutions. 26 Reso
Page 52 and 53: closures should be both in English
Page 54 and 55: issued a new proposed regulation De
Page 56 and 57: “closed network,” in which all
Page 58 and 59: Some guidance may be found in the p
Page 60 and 61: the use of mobile devices for money
Page 62 and 63: Foreign TaxesUnder the 2012 regulat
Page 64 and 65: will be available in all cases. CFP
Page 66 and 67: Section II: Remittances in Post-Con
Page 68 and 69: Sri Lanka. The conflict also result
Page 70 and 71: Figure 2: Current Account, Trade Ba
Page 72 and 73: flows came from migrant workers in
Page 74 and 75: Informal Remittance Channels in Sri
Page 76 and 77: tory authorities, with some calls f
Page 78 and 79: 4. The Role of Remittances in Post-
Page 80 and 81: Figure 1: Liberia Per Capita Income
Page 82 and 83: associations, women’s groups, alu
Page 84 and 85: Remittances to LiberiaValue of Remi
Page 86 and 87: credit because of the need to be li
Page 88 and 89: Remittance Transfers in Sierra Leon
Page 90 and 91: Knowledge RemittanceThe Liberian di
Page 92 and 93: process furthermore was a pioneerin
Page 94 and 95: Levitt, Peggy and Deepak Lamba-Niev
Page 98 and 99: Post-Conflict Development,” this
Page 100 and 101: One of the main challenges for mobi
Page 102 and 103: 6. Transnational Remittances and De
Page 104 and 105: The Salvadoran Diaspora is very sig
Page 106 and 107: annually during the 1990s to less t
Page 108 and 109: Figure 2: Transnational Vicious Cyc
Page 110 and 111: The transnational vicious cycle not
Page 112 and 113: emittance flows is mixed, as initia
Page 114 and 115: individuals, communities, and famil
Page 116 and 117: areas. This issue can potentially b
Page 118 and 119: This is a breakthrough moment: afte
Page 120 and 121: Edwards, Sebastian and I. Igal Mage
Page 122 and 123: y La Distribucion Del Ingreso, 1st
Page 124 and 125: 7. Remittances and Community Resili
Page 126 and 127: For quantitative data collection, a
Page 128 and 129: Remittances are perceived as playin
Page 130 and 131: the affected population. Internatio
Page 132 and 133: ReferencesAddleton, J. 1984. The im
Page 134 and 135: 8. Filling the Gap in Health Staffi
Page 136 and 137: The alternative is for donors to se
Page 138 and 139: cians in the U.S. in 2000 (Clemens
Page 141 and 142: 1. Remittances, Financial Inclusion
Page 143 and 144: networks, and communities. The role
Page 145 and 146: • In the present era of heightene
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the island of Kosrae, in the Federa
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and Sweden and has held visiting pr
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he organized a number of workshops
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