Remittances and Poverty-Reduction: Polhena in Southern Sri Lanka

Abstract

During the last few decades, remittances from migrants have had a significant impact on the foreign exchange earnings of the country. It is also assumed that it has a positive effect on poverty reduction, and this study is based on determining whether or not this is actually so. The research is centred around a predominantly Sinhala Buddhist rural village in Sri Lanka from where several migrants originated.