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Social Organization of Hundi: Informal Remittance Transfer to South Asia

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Migrant Remittances in South Asia

Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

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Abstract

The transfers in cash (or kind) from migrants to their non-migrating fami- lies in the source countries are usually referred to as ‘migrant remittances’.1 Remittance flows to developing countries have more than quadrupled since 2000. According to a recent World Bank press release, global remit- tances, including those to high-income countries, are estimated to have reached US$529 billion in 2012, compared with US$132 billion in 2000.2 Interestingly, officially recorded remittance flows to developing countries were an estimated US$401 billion in 2012 (World Bank, 2013: 1). The true value of remittances, however, is likely to be much higher because this official account does not capture informal remittances. One source esti- mates informal remittances as between US$100 and US$200 billion per year (Sander, 2003: 4), while another puts the figure between US$200 and US$300 billion per year (MigrantRemittances, 2004: 1). The flow of this huge amount of remittances demands a systematic inquiry into the chan- nels through which remittance is transferred across international borders.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore

    Brenda S. A. Yeoh (Professor (Provost’s Chair)

Authors
  1. Md Mizanur Rahman
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  2. Brenda S. A. Yeoh
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, Singapore

    Md Mizanur Rahman (Senior Research Fellow) & Tan Tai Yong (Professor Tan, a historian) (Senior Research Fellow) &  (Professor Tan, a historian)

  2. American University in Cairo, Egypt

    A K M Ahsan Ullah (Associate Director) (Associate Director)

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© 2014 Md Mizanur Rahman and Brenda S.A. Yeoh

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Rahman, M.M., Yeoh, B.S.A. (2014). Social Organization of Hundi: Informal Remittance Transfer to South Asia. In: Rahman, M.M., Yong, T.T., Ullah, A.K.M.A. (eds) Migrant Remittances in South Asia. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137350800_5

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