Escaping the remittance trap

Nepal is facing a vicious cycle of rising costs, migration and falling farm output.

There have been intense discussions among development experts in Nepal about the implications of remittance on the livelihoods of ordinary people, sustainability of the economic machine and financial health of the public economy. According to the latest economic survey of Nepal, the money sent home by migrant workers accounted for 22.47 percent of the GDP in fiscal 2021-22. The remittance inflow is greater than Nepal’s official development assistance, exports and foreign direct investment.