Drinka Peković

Alfa BK University,

Belgrade, Republic of Serbia

E-mail: drinka.pekovic@alfa.edu.rs

ORCID 0000-0003-2777-8288

Impact of migrant remittances to post-transition countries on self-employment

Abstract. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of remittances on self-employment rates in post-transition countries, with a particular focus on the difference in remittance effects between male and female self-employment rates. This paper uses panel data analysis to examine a sample of 25 countries over the period from 2008 to 2022. The remittance effects are estimated through the application of the System GMM approach. The findings indicate that remittance inflows have a positive and statistically significant impact on the self-employment rate. Specifically, a 10 percent increase in remittances per capita has been shown to increase the total self-employment rate by 0.08 and the female self-employment rate by 0.12 percent. By contrast, though remittance inflows contribute to an increase in the male self-employment rate, this effect is statistically insignificant. Analysis by region reveals that remittances support self-employment activities in SEE and CIS countries; however, remittance effects are negative in the Central and Eastern European - EU member states. Thus, the findings of this study suggest that remittance-receiving countries should devise effective measures for unconstrained remittance flows and remittance channeling into entrepreneurial activities.

Received: April, 2025

1st Revision: February, 2026

Accepted: March, 2026

DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2026/19-1/6

JEL Classification: F24, J21, C23

Keywords: remittances, self-employment rate, post-transition countries, GMM approach, entrepreneurship