International remittances, actions needed to address unreliable official U.S. estimate : report to congressional requesters.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

United States. Government Accountability Office, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

United States.

United States. Bureau of Economic Analysis--Rules and practice--Evaluation.

United States. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Emigrant remittances.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ii, 57 pages) : color illustrations

Place of Publication:

[Washington, D.C.] : United States Government Accountability Office, 2016.

Summary:

For many countries, remittances represent a large and stable source of foreign currency. Remittances have received increasing attention from policymakers as the volume of funds transferred has increased over the years. Despite the global significance of remittances, much remains unknown about the actual volume of remittances and the methods used to remit them. GAO was asked to study the potential effects of a fine on certain remitters and estimates of U.S. remittances. GAO examined (1) the potential effects of a fine on remitters unable to provide proof of legal immigration status, and (2) BEA's remittance estimate and the extent to which its revised estimation methodology met government-wide policies and best practices. GAO constructed a hypothetical scenario analysis to show the uncertainty associated with the effects of a fine. GAO interviewed, among others, BEA, International Monetary Fund and World Bank officials, and researchers. GAO also analyzed BEA's estimate of U.S. remittances and documentation of its methodologies. GAO recommends that BEA conduct analyses to improve the reliability of its estimate and follow established policies for documenting its methods and analyses.

Notes:

"February 2016."

"GAO-16-60."

Includes bibliographical references.

Online resource; title from PDF cover page (GAO, viewed February 17, 2016).

OCLC:

939560912