Despite increasing migration, money sent home to Mexico is almost all spent on bare necessities for migrants' families, with little left over for investment that could create new jobs, according to a government report released on Friday.
Levels of migration and remittances sent home by workers abroad have both risen in recent years, and that growth rate is accelerating, said Elena Zuniga, the head of Mexico's National Population Council
The number of undocumented migrants leaving for the US grew by 48 percent in the period 1993-1997, 63 percent from 1998 to 2001, and rose by 77 percent from 2001 to last year, Zuniga said in a news conference at the presidential residence, Los Pinos.
Just as importantly, the amount of time undocumented migrants stay in the US has grown, from an average of 6.9 months in the 1998-2001 period to 11.2 months between 2001 and last year.
Tighter border controls make it harder for migrants to make shorter, multiple trips.
"The increasingly strict border control ... has the effect of increasing undocumented migration [to the US] and turning it into a more permanent migration," Zuniga said.
US and Mexican officials had long hoped that that rising tide could help develop businesses in Mexico so people wouldn't have to emigrate.
Treasury officials say remittances grew to US$16.6 billion last year, a 24 percent increase over 2003 and second only to Mexico's oil income. State and federal officials have designed programs to encourage investment by migrants.
But a new study by the population council shows the average amounts sent home are so small they basically buy only food, clothing and health care.
Less than 10 percent of remittances are used for investment or savings, the study found.
"This spending, in reality, constitutes an investment in human capital, in health and education, among other areas," the council said.
However, the 1.43 million households that received remittances last year -- about one in every 18 Mexican families -- got an average of only US$2,916 per year from workers abroad, according to the study.
"These households use the majority of their income from remittances to satisfy basic needs," the report stated.
The report said that, starting with the economic and financial crisis of 1995, growing numbers of families "used migration as a response to the deteriorating living conditions in Mexico."
In 2000, an estimated 355,000 Mexicans migrated to the US and by last year that figure reached 395,000.
The number of households in Mexico receiving remittances has more than doubled since 1994, when only 665,000 families got payments from abroad.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
RSS