The inflow of remittances, money sent to families in Serbia by employees abroad, has increased by more than 40 percent, according to data from the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) for November, writes Politika.
That income amounted to 4.622 billion euros, which is 41.4 percent more compared to the income of 3.269 billion euros recorded in the same period in 2021.
The World Bank also registered a larger inflow of money to Serbia on this basis.
The NBS states that remittances usually have a “countercyclical character”, which means that in periods of increased global uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, their growth most often occurs.
In addition, the growth of inflation on a global scale during 2022 has led to the fact that all key macroeconomic indicators, including remittances, have nominally increased.
Also, the flows of funds were partly affected by population movements due to the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine.
“When you look at the data for the first three quarters of 2022, which is the latest available data, the inflow of remittances increased from almost all countries, with the largest contribution to the growth of remittances coming from Germany, Switzerland and Austria, i.e. from the countries from which it traditionally arrives and the largest part of remittances to Serbia”, says the central bank.
Economist Vladimir Grečić, who specializes in this matter, cites numerous causes of the aforementioned increase. One of them is Serbia’s significant progress in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, as evidenced by the dynamic growth of this sector’s share in the total value of the country’s exports.
“The number of digital nomads who found and are finding a better place to work in Serbia has increased than in some other countries, especially after the beginning of the crisis and the war in Ukraine. The number of digital pečalbars, more specifically Serbian ICT experts who work for foreign employers, has also increased,” Grečić explains.
According to him, the turbulence caused by the covid pandemic led to changes in the working conditions of our migrant workers abroad, and to the needs of part of their families living in Serbia, which resulted in an increase in the transfer of saved money to Serbia.
He adds that some foreign experts dealing with the diaspora claim that an increase in direct foreign investment in a country stimulates the growth of direct foreign investment in its diaspora. Unfortunately, there are no such empirical data on this in Serbia.
World Bank experts estimate that remittances from members of the diaspora to Serbia increased in 2022 by 17.5 percent and reached 5.4 billion dollars, which is close to the record increase in 2021 of 18.8 percent. This is 8.6 percent of Serbia’s gross domestic product.
Remittance flows to developing regions were shaped by several factors during 2022, according to the World Bank.
The reopening of the economies of immigration countries as the covid-19 pandemic receded supported migrants’ employment and their ability to continue helping their families in their home countries. On the other hand, rising prices negatively affected the real income of migrants.
Globally, the average sending price of $200 remained at the same level as the previous year, averaging six percent in the second quarter of 2022, which is twice the three percent sustainable development goal.
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