An academic study on the remittances of Lebanese immigrants and on impact on families in Lebanon

Professor Shogik Kasparian presented the findings of the study entitled “Emigrants’ financial contribution and its influence on the livelihoods in Lebanon” which was prepared by the Observatory of Socio-economic Reality at the Saint Joseph University.  The presentation of the findings, which was held last week at the Humanities campus, is largely the outcome of a survey carried out in 2012 based on a random sample of some 2000 households drawn from different parts of Lebanon.  The study noted that 55% of emigrants send remittances to their families, of whom, 25% do so on a regular basis.  The study also showed that 61.4% of families use these transfers for food expenses whilst 58.9% use them for accommodation expenses.
The study also included personal information drawn from the data of 7471 individuals and 3356 emigrants from these families. The study was categorized into 4 pillars, namely: 1) household characteristics and people who receive financial transfers, 2) emigrants and factors determining remittances to their families, 3) the impact of remittances of the livelihoods of recipient families, and 4) the impact of these remittances on families’ income and expenditure.  Kasparian noted in her presentation that small families are those who receive financial transfers most and its members are older with a higher percentage of women as well as a higher percentage of women headed households.  Kasparian also added that the proportion of women university graduates in families that receive remittances is higher than in those who do not.  The study also noted that men constitute a high proportion of emigrants but with an increasing trend of women emigrants as well, and while 62% of emigrant men send financial transfers to their families only 42% of women do so. Finally, and according to An Nahar, who covered this event, there was a noticeable absence of official presence or Ministries’ representation in this event notably the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Source: Al-Nahar 24 October 2014