?Substantial economic differentials in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s led to large-scale labor emigration from the less-favored lands of the Mediterranean basin (including North Africa) to the expanding economies of Western Europe. Since most labor migrants send home a large proportion of their earnings, either as support for their families or as investment of urban speculation, remittance money has played a major role in the economic survival and future planning of many nations on the margins of the European economy. Moreover, such remittances are also a significant factor in the financial affairs of many developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Such flows of capital are extremely hard to trace and evaluate, however, since they often consist of money orders, bank transfers, or other small, obscure transactions. In this volume, the author provides a wealth of hard-won data illustrating the impact of such shadowy remittance money on the economy of Portugal and its various regions.... This book is a very useful piece of scholarship. By identifying the types of sources likely to provide relevant information, suggesting some suitable methodology for analyzing the diverse data, and providing a comprehensive bibliography that goes well beyond Portugal to cover all aspects of remittances, it will doubtless become a landmark in the literature of the significant, if elusive, subject.?-Choice, "Substantial economic differentials in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s led to large-scale labor emigration from the less-favored lands of the Mediterranean basin (including North Africa) to the expanding economies of Western Europe. Since most labor migrants send home a large proportion of their earnings, either as support for their families or as investment of urban speculation, remittance money has played a major role in the economic survival and future planning of many nations on the margins of the European economy. Moreover, such remittances are also a significant factor in the financial affairs of many developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Such flows of capital are extremely hard to trace and evaluate, however, since they often consist of money orders, bank transfers, or other small, obscure transactions. In this volume, the author provides a wealth of hard-won data illustrating the impact of such shadowy remittance money on the economy of Portugal and its various regions.... This book is a very useful piece of scholarship. By identifying the types of sources likely to provide relevant information, suggesting some suitable methodology for analyzing the diverse data, and providing a comprehensive bibliography that goes well beyond Portugal to cover all aspects of remittances, it will doubtless become a landmark in the literature of the significant, if elusive, subject."-Choice
