Why remittances still carry Nepal's economy, and what could change that

Every month, millions of households receive money from a relative working in the Gulf, Malaysia, South Korea or India. Taken together those transfers are one of the largest sources of foreign exchange the country has, larger than exports and tourism combined. [1]

The central bank's monthly bulletin tracks the flow closely, because it is what keeps the current account from tipping into deficit when imports rise. [2]

The cushion and the trap

Remittances pay school fees, clear debts and build houses. They also pay for imports rather than factories, and the labour they represent is working somewhere else. Reports from the IMF describe the pattern across several South Asian economies: stable consumption, weak investment. [3]

The policy question is how to turn a flow into a stock: savings instruments that reach returning workers, credit for the businesses they start, and a jobs market that gives the next cohort a reason to stay.