Investigating the business cycle properties of remittances to the Caribbean

• Mahalia Jackman ^[1]
  1. [1] Central Bank of BarbadosTom Adams Financial Centre
• Localización: Applied econometrics and international development, ISSN 1578-4487, Vol. 14, Nº. 1, 2014, págs. 87-100
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This paper investigates the business cycle properties of remittances to four Caribbean countries – Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. To extract the cyclical components, the study uses the structural time series framework proposed by Harvey (1989). Variance decompositions and impulse response functions are then employed to analyse the underlying relationships between the variables. Results suggest that remittances to Barbados and Jamaica are significantly influenced by their domestic business cycles. Meanwhile, remittances to both Dominica and Trinidad and Tobago seem to be more affected by the US business cycle than economic developments in Dominica or Trinidad and Tobago, respectively.