Money from overseas workers is fueling the divide between urban and rural areas with remittances tending to benefit the country’s affluent regions, leaving poorer regions behind and worsening inequality, according to a study.
And while overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) remittances have contributed significantly to the economy’s growth, the study by the University of Santo Tomas (UST) confirmed the worrisome phenomenon of agricultural workers leaving the farms to join industries in more developed regions and wait for the opportunity to become OFWs themselves.
The study, "Workers’ Remittances and Economic Growth in the Philippines" authored by economist Alvin P. Ang of the UST Social Research Center, found that the more OFWs sent per region, the lower the percentage of workers in the farm sector.
