Richard P. C. Brown

In Vivo Analysis of Growth Hormone Receptor Signaling Domains and Their Associated Transcripts.

ABSTRACT The growth hormone receptor (GHR) is a critical regulator of postnatal growth and metabolism. However, the GHR signaling domains and pathways that regulate these processes in vivo are not defined. We report the first knock-in mouse models with deletions of specific domains of the receptor that are required for its in vivo actions. Mice expressing truncations at residue m569 (plus Y539/545-F) and at residue m391 displayed a progressive impairment of postnatal growth with receptor truncation. Moreover, after 4 months of age, marked male obesity was observed in both mutant 569 and mutant 391 and was associated with hyperglycemia. Both mutants activated hepatic JAK2 and ERK2, whereas STAT5 phosphorylation was substantially decreased for mutant 569 and absent from mutant 391, correlating with loss of IGF-1 expression and reduction in growth. Microarray analysis of these and GHR−/− mice demonstrated that particular signaling domains are responsible for the regulation of different target genes and revealed novel actions of growth hormone. These mice represent the first step in delineating the domains of the GHR regulating body growth and composition and the transcripts associated with these domains.

Migrants' intentions to return home and capital transfers: A study of Tongans and Samoans in Australia

This article examines the attributes of migrants from the Pacific island states of Tonga and Samoa living in Australia to assess the extent to which return migrants could contribute to the human and physical capital stock of the migrant-sending countries. It also examines the impact of intention to return on remittances and asset accumulation. The study finds that very few migrants plan to return home and very little evidence that those who plan to return embody significant human capital (education, experience and skills). Intention to return may be important, nevertheless, since those who plan to return remit significantly more than those that do not and also accumulate far more physical capital at home than those that do not intend to return.

Remittances in the South Pacific

For more than a quarter of a century there has been substantial emigration from the smaller island states of the Pacific to metropolitan fringe states, mainly the USA, New Zealand and Australia. Migration reduced unemployment in island states and remittances have contributed to raised living standards. This paper provides a better understanding of the implications of remittances for economic and social development in the Pacific region. It discusses alternative explanations of remittances, estimates of the size of remittance flows, the impact of remittances on the home country, and policies that influence the flow of remittances. Much of the empirical work in this paper is based on Tonga and Samoa, although the findings apply more generally to other Pacific island nations.

Migration and Remittances in the South Pacific: Towards New Perspectives

For more than a quarter of a century there has been substantial emigration from the smaller island states of the Pacific to metropolitan fringe states, mainly the United States, New Zealand and Australia. Migration reduced unemployment in the island states and remittances have contributed to raised living standards. There has been some shift of remittances from consumption to investment. Communal remittances are of greater significance than in other world regions. There is a high propensity to sustain remittance flows over long periods of time at some cost to the senders. The duration and magnitude of migration, the remittance flows and their considerable social and economic consequences in a range of contexts has demonstrated the need for much more attention to be given, in terms of both studies and policy formation, to the role of migration and remittances in economic and social development in the Pacific region.

The remittances of migrant Tongan and Samoan nurses from Australia

BackgroundMigration and remittances are of considerable importance in the small Pacific island states. There has been a significant migration of skilled health workers in recent decades to metropolitan fringe states, including Australia and New Zealand. This paper reports the findings of a re-analysis of survey of Samoan and Tongan migrants in Australia where the sample is split between nurse households and others.MethodsThe study analyzes the survey data with a view to comparing the remittance behaviour and determinants of remittances for nurses and other migrant households, using both descriptive, cross-tabulations and appropriate econometric methods.ResultsIt is found that a significantly higher proportion of nurse households sent remittances home, and, on average remitted more. Remittances of nurse households did not decline significantly over time contrary to what has generally been predicted. This was in contrast to other migrant households in the sample, for whom remittances showed a sharp decline after 15 years absence. Remittances contribute much more to the income of migrant sending countries, than the cost of the additional human capital in nurse training.ConclusionsGiven the shortage of nurses in Australia and New Zealand, and therefore the high demand for immigrant nurses, investment by Pacific island governments and families in nurse training constitutes a rational use of economic resources. Policies encouraging investment in home countries may be more effective than policies directly discouraging brain drain in contributing to national development.

Hidden Foreign Exchange Flows: Estimating Unofficial Remittances to Tonga and Western Samoa

This article shows how sample survey data from both the remitting and receiving ends can be used to derive estimates of total remittances by migrants from Tonga and Western Samoa, including those sent through unofficial channels. Such survey data can provide a wealth of information on the variety of forms and channels of remittances used by migrants, from which it is possible to assess the quantitative and qualitative significance of these hidden international resource flows. Unrecorded remittances are found to constitute a highly significant part of total remittances to these Pacific island countries. It is argued that current account estimates from official balance of payments data in these situations need to be treated with extreme caution, especially in the context of macroeconomic analysis and policy formulation.

Migrants’ Remittances and Financial Development: Macro‐ and Micro‐Level Evidence of a Perverse Relationship

Financial development and financial literacy in developing countries are commonly identified as important conditions for attaining higher rates of investment and economic growth. It has also been argued that migrants’ remittances stimulate financial development in the receiving economy, contributing indirectly to economic growth. Past research has been based almost exclusively on the macro-level relationship between remittances and financial depth. To explore this relationship further, we combine macroeconomic analysis using a cross-country panel dataset with micro-level analysis of households’ uses of financial sector services. From the macroeconomic analysis we find evidence of a negative relationship between remittances and financial deepening in developing countries, once we control for the countries’ legal origin. At the microeconomic level we use household survey data from a recent study of migrants’ remittances in two transition economies, resource rich and relatively more financially developed Azerbaijan, and Kyrgyzstan, to test the relationship between remittances and financial literacy among remittance-receiving households. While we find some supportive evidence, albeit weak, for Kyrgyzstan, in Azerbaijan, the relatively more financially-developed economy, we uncover a strong perverse relationship. Remittances appear to deter the use of formal banking services. Possible reasons are explored and areas for further investigation identified.

From Consumption to Savings? Interpreting Tongan and Western Samoan Sample Survey Data on Remittances

This article examines the findings of an analysis of sample survey data on the uses and determinants of remittances among Tongan and Western Samoan households. These surveys were undertaken at both the receiving and remitting ends of the process, and bring forth important evidence that remittances are not used exclusively for consumption purposes and play an important role in contributing to both savings and investment in the migrant sending countries. It also shows that remittances appear not to be driven exclusively by altruistic sentiments and the need for family support, but also, among some migrant categories, by the motivation to invest. There appears to be substantial scope for policy intervention on the part of Pacific island governments to increase the flows of remittances into their economies.

Assessing the Poverty Impacts of Migrants’ Remittances Using Propensity Score Matching: The Case of Tonga

We estimate the impacts of remittances on poverty in Tonga, a poor Pacific island country highly dependent on migrants’ remittances. Using household survey data, we apply Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to estimate without-remittances incomes of migrant households from which counterfactual poverty rates are derived. We compare these with poverty rates from observed income including remittances to gauge their effects on poverty. We find that remittances reduce the incidence of poverty by 31 per cent and depth of poverty by 49 per cent. The results are robust both to alternative specifications of the PSM model and to use of an alternative counterfactual income estimation method.

Sharing Norm Pressures and Community Remittances: Evidence from a Natural Disaster in the Pacific Islands

Abstract Migrants are often subject to social pressures to remit beyond their own households, to share the benefits of migration with the wider community in their home country; these are ‘community remittances’. We hypothesise that community sharing norm pressures are stronger in locations with more extensive home community networks. We also postulate that the responsiveness of remittances to sharing pressures is subject to diminishing returns, attributable to a donor fatigue effect. Using customised survey data from three Polynesian migrant groups in metropolitan and regional Australia, we estimate double-hurdle regression models of community remittances. To identify the effects of sharing norm pressures we exploit an exogenous (cyclone) shock to home country incomes affecting one sub-group. We find strong evidence in support of the postulated responsiveness of community remittances to location-related differences in sharing norm pressures, and the presence of a donor fatigue effect. The policy implications are discussed.