Determinants of Remittance Behavior Among Female Marriage Immigrants in South Korea

Nayoung Heo , Asian Demographic Research Institute
Doo-Sub Kim, Hanyang University

This study examines determinants of the remittance behavior among female marriage immigrants in South Korea. We use a nationally representative survey dataset of registered foreigners. Adopting an extended altruism framework, we hypothesize a positive relationship between socioeconomic status and remittances and a negative association between duration of stay and remittances. We fit a double hurdle model to produce probit coefficients in one part and OLS results in the other part. The probability of sending remittances increases if the women are Vietnamese or Uzbek, work, and earn monthly income at certain levels. The level of remittance decreases with a larger household size but increases drastically with a higher level of income. Our model confirms that there are indeed two different mechanisms for decision to remit and level of remittance. Through remittances, having economic power is likely to increase the chance of maintaining transnational ties with families in the origins.

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 Presented in Session 127. Transnational Migrants and Their Family Life in Asia