Migration and remittances: A theoretical perspective

This paper discusses the theoretical approaches used to explain issues relating to remittances among house-helps in Kenya. Two theoretical approaches are discussed, namely The Todaro Migration Model and The Rural Livelihood Diversification Approach. In this paper, the theoretical underpinnings are explained against available literature on past studies on remittances. Remittances, as used in this paper, refer to the money and/or the value of goods that migrants send to their family in the rural areas. Remittances are significant sources of income to households across the world. The aim of this paper is to create a conceptual framework for examining issues related to remittances amongst categories of workers such as house-helps. These issues include the proportion of income remitted; frequency of remittances; purposes for remitting and the factors that influence remittances. The paper is limited to a theoretical conceptualization of internal remittances. These are remittances that flow within different regions in the same country as opposed to external remittances that flow from migrants who are outside the country. The conclusions and recommendations are made based on emergent relationships of the available literature and theoretical applications to studies on remittances.