Sonja Fransen

New Technologies in remittances sending: Opportunities for mobile remittances in Africa

Mobile remittances have a high development potential as they hold the promise of providing quick, easy and cheap money transfers. In Africa, mobile phone usage has increased sharply and mobile banking providers are extending their services, therefore offering opportunities for mobile remittances. The rise of mobile banking in Africa, however, differs substantially across countries, mainly due to a lack of financial infrastructure. Consequently, the opportunities that mobile banking offers for mobile remittances vary geographically. The services provided do not always meet the needs of remittance senders and the African remittance market is generally under-acknowledged as an important market by providers. Restrictive financial regulations play a key role as well. Mobile remittances have the potential to become an important and revolutionary tool for remittance sending in Africa. Effective policies should therefore address the limitations in the regulatory and financial infrastructure for mobile banking to become the foundation for mobile remittances.

Return Migration and Economic Outcomes in the Conflict Context

We explore differences in economic outcomes between return migrant households and non-migrant households using panel data from Burundi, a country which experienced large scale conflict-led emigration to Tanzania and massive post-war refugee return. We exploit proximity to the border of Tanzania at birth for identification purposes. Results indicate that returnee households have significantly lower levels of livestock. Differences in current economic activities and legal restrictions on economic activities while in displacement are likely to explain a portion of the current economic gap between returnee and non-migrant households. There is no evidence for other channels (e.g. vulnerability to crime, health status).

The Impact of Refugee Experiences on Education: Evidence from Burundi

This paper studies the long-term impacts of conflict and forced displacement experiences during Burundi’s 1990s civil war on individuals who were of school age during the war and their children (i.e. the post-war generation). We use the exogenous variation in the duration and timing of the conflict across Burundi’s provinces for identification purposes. This variation led to cohorts of school age children being exposed to conflict and forced displacement at different periods and for different lengths of time. Using data collected over a decade after the end of the conflict, we show that, consistent with previous research, both conflict and forced displacement experiences during school age years have significant, negative impacts on educational outcomes and that boys were more negatively affected than girls. The effects of conflict experiences are however not transmitted to the next generation. After controlling for relevant factors including pre-war wealth and caregiver education, we find that children whose caregiver(s) experienced conflict during school age years do not have significantly lower educational outcomes than other children. The forced displacement experiences, both internal and international, of caregivers did lead to reductions in educational outcomes for children in the post-war generation, which is most likely due to the reintegration challenges that returned displaced populations face in Burundi. Gender differences are no longer significant for the post-war generation.

Remittances, Bonds and Bridges: Remittances and Social Capital in Burundi

Abstract This study explores the effects of remittances on households’ structural social capital in urban Burundi. Distinctions are made between bonding and bridging social capital, referring to intra- versus inter-network ties of family members and friends. The results demonstrate that remittance-receiving households invest more in bridging social capital by participating in organisations (donating time), but make fewer monetary contributions, compared to non-receiving households. Remittances have mixed effects on bonding social capital: receiving households give significantly less gifts to family members and friends, but are more likely to send internal remittances, compared to non-receivers. The implications of these findings for post-conflict development are discussed.