Population mobility and wealth transfers in Indonesia and other Third World societies

It focuses especially upon the links established and maintained by movers with the families they leave behind and the ways in which these links relate to income distribution. In particular, it examines the impact and role of remittances. First, the difficulties of measuring remittances are discussed, and caution is advised in interpeting remittance data. Next, the paper investigates the frequently overlooked interrelationship between types of population mobility and remittances. It then examines the incidence, extent, and determinants of remittances in Indonesia, particularly West Java, focusing on the role of the family. The implications of remittance patterns for income distribution are also discussed. Findings are related to those obtained from a review of the literature on remittances in other low-income countries. Finally, some general comments are made concerning the role of migration and population mobility in intergenerational wealth flows within families and their significance with respect to Caldwell"s wealth-flows theory of fertility decline. (Author abstract, modified)