The debilitating cost of remittances

November 05, 2022

The Debilitating Cost of Remittances | Economic Empowerment | GZERO Media

Dilip Ratha knows how hard it is to work abroad and send money home. Why? Because he had to go through the same hoops when he was a migrant.

It's the inconvenience and the cost, the World Bank's head of KNOMAD and lead economist says during a livestream conversation on closing the global digital gap hosted by GZERO in partnership with Visa.

Still, Ratha points out, these flows are a lifeline for millions of poor families around the world. And they keep the lights on in remittance-dependent economies like El Salvador or Lebanon.

With an average 6% commission, the amount lost each year is double all the aid that the US gives to the entire world or what sub-Saharan Africa gets.

Watch our recent livestream discussion on digital payments, the unbanked, remittances, and other tools for economic empowerment.

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The debilitating cost of remittances

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On GZERO World, Pulitzer prize-winning New York Times correspondent David Sanger argues that China's rise and Russia's aggressive stance signal a new era of major power competition, with both countries fueling instability in the US to distract from their strategic ambitions.

Last night, hundreds of NYPD officers entered Columbia University in riot gear, one night after students occupied a building on campus and 13 days after students pitched an encampment that threw kerosene on a student movement against the war in Gaza.

How will the international community respond to an Israeli invasion of Rafah? How would a Trump presidency be different from his first term? Are growing US campus protests a sign of a chaotic election in November? Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.

The judge in the so-called hush money case in New York against presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has fined the former president for repeatedlyviolating a gag order that bars him from publicly criticizing witnesses and jurors.

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The United Nations found evidence that Russia struck the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with a North Korean Hwaseong-11 missile in January, according to a new report.

Despite offering a watered-down hostage deal proposal to Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said an invasion of Rafah — the southern Gaza city where over a million Palestinians are sheltering — would move forward “with or without” a cease-fire.

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Eight major newspapers, all owned by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital, are suing ChatGPT maker OpenAI in federal court in Manhattan, alleging copyright infringement.