Institutional Arrangements, Community Ties and Remittance Rural Hometown Investing: A Mixed Methods Study in Two Philippine Municipalities

The study "Institutional Arrangements, Community Ties, and Remittance Rural Hometown Investing" delves into the potential of foreign remittances to foster economic development in rural hometowns of overseas migrants. Despite the promising influx of remittances, rural communities often face persistent socio-economic challenges such as low populations, limited market access, inadequate infrastructure, and low productivity, which hinder their full utilization for local economic growth. This research emphasizes that harnessing remittances for hometown development is contingent upon the effectiveness of local institutions, the trustworthiness of community ties, and the entrepreneurial climate. It identifies key factors that influence remittance use, including institutional support, localized financial services, and the reinforcement of community trust. By employing a fully integrated mixed methods approach, the study investigates how migrant households interact with their hometown institutions under prevailing socio-economic norms and regulations. Conducted in two rural municipalities in the Philippines, the research combines a household survey with a rapid qualitative inquiry (RQI), integrating probit regression analysis with comparative case studies. Findings reveal that both migrant households and hometown institutions engage in signaling to bridge information gaps, fostering mutual trust and confidence in hometown investment decisions. The concept of signaling emerges as a novel theoretical contribution to the migration-and-development discourse.

Dr. Jeremaiah Opiniano brings extensive expertise to the discussion of migration and development. As the Director of the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (RCSSED) at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), he has dedicated his career to studying the intricate dynamics of remittance utilization for rural development. An associate professor of journalism, Opiniano also leads a nonprofit think tank focused on migration and development issues in the Philippines. His doctoral research at The University of Adelaide, Australia, integrates interdisciplinary approaches, including economics, and employs mixed methods to analyze remittance rural hometown investing. Opiniano's Ph.D. project has been recognized with the prestigious 2024 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Mixed Methods International Research Association (MMIRA), reflecting his contributions to advancing research on remittance-driven local development strategies.

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