Where Does the Money go? Unpacking the Political and Economic Implications of Remittances

Sonia Plaza

Senior Economist in the Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice

World Bank and Co-Chair of the Diaspora Thematic working group of KNOMAD (Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development)

Sonia Plaza is a Senior Economist in the Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice of the World Bank. She is also the co-chair of the Diaspora Thematic working group of KNOMAD (Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development). Sonia was born in Lima, Peru. Her father had a constructing firm, so some of her earliest childhood memories are of traveling with him to poor areas including Ayacucho where he was working on projects. This is how she was first exposed to development work, and it shaped her. She wrote chapter 5 of the book, “Africa’s Silk Road: China and India’s New Economic Frontier”, which covers trade facilitation, technology, and skills transfer, and regional trade agreements. She advises many universities on the transfer of skills and tapping into their diasporas. Sonia attended the University of Lima and earned a degree in Economics, after which she joined Chase Manhattan Bank, and was then invited to join the Peruvian Ministry of Trade as a manager responsible for counter trade and debt swap agreements. She also has a dual degree from Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania in International Economics and Development. She was Professor of Economics (International Economics) at the Peruvian School of Foreign Service and at the University of Lima in Peru, and was adjunct faculty (Microeconomics and Macroeconomics) at The American University in Washington, DC. Her research interests include international migration, labor mobility, trade, and the future of labor. She joined the Institute for the Study of Labor as a Research Fellow in February 2010.

Manuel Orozco

Migration, Remittances, and Development Program

Inter-American Dialogue

Manuel Orozco directs the Migration, Remittances, and Development Program at the Inter-American Dialogue. He also serves as a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Center for International Development and as a senior adviser with the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Orozco has conducted extensive research, policy analysis and advocacy on issues relating to global flows of remittances as well as migration and development worldwide. He is chair of Central America and the Caribbean at the US Foreign Service Institute and senior researcher at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University.

Orozco frequently testifies before Congress and has spoken before the United Nations. He holds a PhD in political science from the University of Texas at Austin, a MA in public administration and Latin American studies, and a BA in international relations from the National University of Costa Rica.

Orozco has published widely on remittances, Latin America, globalization, democracy, migration, conflict in war torn societies, and minority politics. His books include International Norms and Mobilization for Democracy (2002), Remittances: Global Opportunities for International Person-to-Person Money Transfers (2005), América Latina y el Caribe: Desarrollo, migración y remesas (2012) and Migrant Remittances and Development in the Global Economy (2013).

Nikola Spatafora

Senior Economist

IMF Research Department

Nikola Spatafora is a Senior Economist in the IMF Research Department. He previously served in the IMF European Department and Fiscal Affairs Department, as well as in the World Bank's Development Economics Research Group. His research interests and publications focus on: Economic Growth and Development, International Trade, Commodity Prices, Remittances, FDI. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Yale, and a B.A. (First Class) in Politics, Philosophy, & Economics from Balliol College, Oxford.

Daniel Hernandez

Media and Engagement Lead LATAM

Zepz

Latin America Lead at Zepz, operating two global payment brands: WorldRemit and Sendwave, making global digital payments fairer, faster, and more flexible. Ample volunteering experience working hands on with Nicaraguan, Venezuelan and Cuban refugees in Costa Rica in collaboration with the countries Migration Service and Public Universities. Former two time Co-Founder of successful Fintech and Digital Transformation start ups in Latin America.