Working overseas seafarers’ remittances and their distribution in Kiribati Maria Borovnik

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: Wellington, New Zealand Victoria University of Wellington 2006Description: [11 p.] ill., graphs 30 cmSubject(s): DDC classification:
  • 332.099681
 In: Asia Pacific Viewpoint Vol. 47, no. 1 (April 2006), p. 151-161Summary: "Remittances sent home by seafarers employed on international merchant and fishing ships are a significant income component for the Kiribati economy, with immediate benefits for families and communities. This paper explores the strategies used and the amounts sent by seafarers to their family members by drawing on different data sets, such as remittances data kept in the form of allotment lists by employment agencies, and comparing these with interview responses from seafarers and their families. Remittances are spread throughout extended families and communities firstly via direct allotments sent to individual bank accounts, and secondly through channels of family and community obligations. This paper shows that the general flow of seafarers’ remittances into Kiribati is continuous and has increased over the years with more people engaged in seafaring employment. Families, however, were found to be dependent on individual decisions made by seafarers of how to share their remittances. Kiribati has no institutionalised social welfare system, and as a consequence remittances function as a private safety net for seafarer families."
Item type: Journal article
Tags from this library: No tags from this library for this title. Log in to add tags.
Holdings
Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode
MAIN LIBRARY Noumea D 332.099 681 BOR 2006 Available 46217

Includes bibliographical references (p. 160-161)

"Remittances sent home by seafarers employed on international merchant and fishing ships are a significant income component for the Kiribati economy, with immediate benefits for families and communities. This paper explores the strategies used and the amounts sent by seafarers to their family members by drawing on different data sets, such as remittances data kept in the form of allotment lists by employment agencies, and comparing these with interview responses from seafarers and their families. Remittances are spread throughout extended families and communities firstly via direct allotments sent to individual bank accounts, and secondly through channels of family and community obligations. This paper shows that the general flow of seafarers’ remittances into Kiribati is continuous and has increased over the years with more people engaged in seafaring employment. Families, however, were found to be dependent on individual decisions made by seafarers of how to share their remittances. Kiribati has no institutionalised social welfare system, and as a consequence remittances function as a private safety net for seafarer families."