Migration, remittances and the search for a better life : longitudinal evidence from the Philippines

Abstract

The horizon to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target date of 2030 is fast approaching. Despite many decades of migration as an engine of development dominating the rhetoric and policies of government and non-governmental actors, there remain gaps in knowledge about whether families will achieve the goals of longer-term financial wellbeing - in effect, whether migration helps to actualise SDG 1 (End poverty) and SDG 10 (Reduce inequalities). This chapter draws on a unique longitudinal, mixed-method dataset to interrogate the state of progress towards the SDGs through the lens of transnational migration and remittances.