Abstract:
Workers’ remittances consist of goods or financial instruments transferred by
migrants living and working abroad to residents of the home of the migrants. There
is no doubt that workers’ remittances can spur economic development. Evidence
abounds that workers’ remittances in many nations have helped in no small way in
the development of the countries. The impact of remittances on development is both
at the macro and micro level. Have remittances impacted on Sri Lanka’s economic
development? Could the impact be sustained? And, for how long could it be sustained?
The objective of this study is to find out the impact of remittances on economic
development in Sri Lanka, and the sustainability or otherwise of the foreign capital
inflow into Sri Lanka. Secondary data was collected and used for this study. The study
confirmed that remittances have impacted positively on the economic growth and
development of Sri Lanka at both macro and micro level, but the study found that
sustaining such inflow of foreign capital may be hampered by growing resentment
against foreign workers in many countries of the world, macroeconomic instability
across nations that is becoming more frequent et cetera.
