Resumo

CANALES, Alejandro I.. Las cifras sobre remesas en México. ¿Son creíbles?. Migr. Inter [online]. 2008, vol.4, n.4, pp.5-35. ISSN 2594-0279.

In recent years remittances in Mexico have passed from 6.5 billion dollars in 2000 to 23 billions in 2006, but there are several hypotheses about this growth. On one hand, the bank of Mexico stresses that, although there was a methodological change in estimating remittances, the main reason is a real growth. On the other hand, it is pointed out that there are serious problems and biases in the current estimation of remittances, as it could incorporate other monetary fluxes like remittances from small and medium size enterprises or, even, resources originated by the drug smuggling. Over this controversy, in this article we analyze whereas the bank of Mexico's estimation has a real base in the migration of Mexicans and their pattern regarding remittances, or if there is a methodological problem in the measurement of remittances that would be revised in order to avoid a possible overestimation. We although analyze if there is any empirical evidence that could sustain one of these alternative hypothesis.

Palavras-chave : Remittances; international migration; mexican migration; United States; methodology.