02539cas a2200337 a 4500 AALejournalIMF022339 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781513578453 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Kpodar, Kangni. Defying the Odds : Remittances During the COVID-19 Pandemic / Kangni Kpodar, Montfort Mlachila, Saad Quayyum, Vigninou Gammadigbe. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2021. 1 online resource (35 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students This paper provides an early assessment of the dynamics and drivers of remittances during the COVID-19 pandemic, using a newly compiled monthly remittance dataset for a sample of 52 countries, of which 16 countries with bilateral remittance data. The paper documents a strong resilience in remittance flows, notwithstanding an unprecedent global recession triggered by the pandemic. Using the local projection approach to estimate the impulse response functions of remittance flows during Jan 2020-Dec 2020, the paper provides evidence that: (i) remittances responded positively to COVID-19 infection rates in migrant home countries, underscoring its role as an important automatic stabilizer; (ii) stricter containment measures have the unintended consequence of dampening remittances; and (iii) a shift from informal to formal remittance channels due to travel restrictions appears to have also played a role in the surge in formal remittances. Lastly, the size of the fiscal stimulus in host countries is positively associated with remittances as the fiscal response cushions the economic impact of the pandemic. Mode of access: Internet Health imf Impulse Response Function imf Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development imf Remittances, COVID-19, Shocks imf Remittances imf Gammadigbe, Vigninou. Mlachila, Montfort. Quayyum, Saad. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2021/186 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2021/186/001.2021.issue-186-en.xml IMF e-Library