Published 10/31/2025 - Ford School economist Dean Yang joined NPR’s Planet Money to unpack the surprising surge, and looming drop, in U.S. remittances to low-income countries. His insights reveal how U.S. immigration policy changes could devastate economic development in developing nations.

Migrants play a major role in developing their country of origin’s economy even after they move to the United States. In 2022, immigrants to the United States sent over $80 billion dollars in remittances, or money sent to friends and family, to their origin countries. These remittances often make up a significant portion of these countries’ economic output—in some countries, the money accounts for over 20% of gross domestic product.

Yang’s research in the Philippines demonstrates that remittances do more than lift home populations out of poverty, they stimulate economic activity and encourage investments and innovation.

“We found home populations invested in education. In addition, remittances came in and stimulated the local economy, expanding the local economy,” said Yang. “[T]wo decades down the line, we find that these economies are richer. People have higher incomes. And the economies have modernized. They've transitioned more from agriculture to the modern sectors of industry and services.”

Now, Yang warns that increased deportations and declining immigration to the United States will disrupt the flow of these remittances, which could potentially devastate countries where economic growth is deeply intertwined with immigration. Economists estimate that remittances could fall by 10 to 13 percent in the next 18 months, a trend that could wipe out 2 to 4 percent of GDP in remittance-reliant countries.

Listen to “The remittance mystery” on the Planet Money podcast with Dean Yang.