Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2017

RSVP Now

Jan 25 2018

Inter-American Dialogue

Open to the Public

Speakers

1155 15th St NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005

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Registration
9:00pm – 9:30am

Panel Discussion and Presentation
9:30pm – 11:00am

Event Summary This event has passed.

Family remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean grew over 8% in 2017, reaching US$75 billion, according to new research by the Inter-American Dialogue. This growth is substantial and exceeds the World Bank’s forecasted 1.2% economic growth for the entire region. In terms of scale, remittances have grown nearly as much as exports from the region in 2017.

Growth in remittances is being driven by migration patterns in countries such as Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Colombia, which represent 45% of flows in remittances and experienced growth of over 10% last year. Other drivers of remittance growth include the continued demand for foreign labor in the United States economy, and to a lesser extent the dollar devaluations in countries like Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica.

To discuss these trends, the Inter-American Dialogue is pleased to host a panel discussion on Thursday, January 25^th with Manuel Orozco, Director of the Dialogue’s Migration, Remittances and Development Program, Leon Isaacs, Chief Executive Officer of Developing Markets Associates, and Paul Dwyer, Chief Executive Officer of Viamericas Corporation. The discussion will include 2017 remittance flows, 2018 prospects, and specific country case studies. It will also address the possible impact of changes in US immigration policy for remittances to the region.

This event is part of the Inter-American Dialogue’s Remittance Industry Observatory, an initiative that seeks to share information and analysis about the remittance market.

The panel discussion will be followed by a wide-ranging exchange with participants.

Follow this event on Twitter at #Remittances2017 and @The_Dialogue.

SPEAKERS:

Manuel Orozco

Director of the Migration, Remittances and Development Program, Inter-American Dialogue (@manuelorozco65)

Leon Isaacs

Chief Executive Director, Development Market Associates (@leon_dma)

Paul Dwyer

Chief Executive Officer, Viamericas (@Viamericas)

MODERATOR:

Michael Shifter

President, Inter-American Dialogue (@MichaelShifter)