(iPoster) How Communication Technology Reshapes Remittance Dependence in Africa

• In Event: Poster Sessions: Foundations of Political Theory III & Comparative Political Economy
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Comparative Political Economy

Abstract

Does digital connectivity reshape how migrant-origin households depend on remittances? While extensive research documents the scale and determinants of remittance flows, scholars have largely overlooked how communication technologies mediate the relationship between migration and economic dependence on diaspora transfers. This paper argues that digital infrastructure—internet access, social media, and digital news consumption—amplifies migration's effect on remittance dependence by reducing communication costs, maintaining transnational social ties, and facilitating coordination between migrants and origin households. Using Afrobarometer Round 7 data (2016-2018) from 34 African countries (N=33,426), I estimate an interaction model testing whether digital connectivity moderates the migration-remittance relationship. Results provide strong evidence of amplification: the positive effect of household migration on remittance dependence strengthens significantly as digital connectivity increases (β = 0.021, p < 0.05). Among highly connected households, migration increases remittance dependence by approximately 20% more than among poorly connected households. This finding challenges assumptions that digital technologies promote economic independence and reveals that connectivity instead intensifies reliance on transnational household strategies. The results have important implications for understanding how technological change interacts with migration to reshape household economic security in developing contexts.

Author

• Annabella Saikoom-Dadzie, University of Missouri-Columbia