G2LM|LIC – Impacts of Labeling Remittances on Migrants and their Households in the Philippines

The study seeks to support the Philippine COVID-19 response by quantifying the role of international migrant remittances in helping households cope with the pandemic’s economic consequences. To investigate how pandemic closures and restrictions affect migrants’ income and remittances, researchers built on a previous study to conduct two rounds of phone surveys between Filipino migrants in the UAE and their families in the Philippines to answer the following questions: 1. Risk‐coping role of remittances: How do migrant remittances respond to COVID‐19‐induced negative shocks in migrant‐origin households 2. Impact of migrant shocks on risk‐coping: Is the risk‐coping role of remittances (empirical relationship #1 above) attenuated when migrants themselves experience COVID‐19‐induced negative shocks? 3. Impact of labeled remittances: How does having an ability to label remittances with the migrant’s intended use affect the risk‐coping role of remittances, and the impact of migrant shocks on risk coping (empirical relationships #1 and #2 above)? This project has a strong gender component, contributing to G2LM|LIC objectives. 74% of our migrant study participants are female, working as domestic helpers and in-service industries.