When the Money Stops and 12.3 percent in 2013.Households received their Remittances(t)subtracts the frequency with which re- remitted income in four different currencies across the mittances were received in wave t-1 from the frequency waves:54.2 percent of households received remittances in wave t for each respondent.Hence,the variable cap- in Kyrgyz Som,39.6 percent in Russian Rubles,5.5 per- tures the change in the frequency with which respon- cent in US Dollars,and 0.7 percent in Euros.Given dents received remittances from abroad between each that we are interested in the political consequences survey wave.The variable Change in Frequency of Re- of fluctuations in remittances,our analyses focus on mittances -(t1)ranges from a minimum value of-5 to a remittance recipients only.Between 2010 and 2011. maximum value of 5 673 percent of remittance recipients experienced a Our third measure relies on changes in a Remittance change in the amount or frequency of money received. Index.This index taps into the degree to which re- 63.6 percent experienced a change between 2012 and mittances are a substantial and reliable source of in- 2011,and 63.1 percent between 2012 and 2013. come.While the continuous measures of remittances We explore the political effects of fluctuations in re- used here are an improvement on categorical measures, mittances by relying on three different measures:1) they might not capture the extent to which these finan- changes in the amount of remitted income received cial flows constitute a substantial and reliable source of between survey waves,2)changes in the frequency income.To overcome some of these issues,Germano of remittances received between survey waves,and 3) (2010)developed the Remittance Index comprised of changes in a Remittance Index that combines informa- three components:the amount,the regularity and the tion about both the amount and regularity of remit- duration of remittances received.The index thus cap- tances (Germano 2010).By moving beyond a simple tures"the extent to which remittances are a substantial. dichotomous measure of receiving remittances or not, reliable,and enduring source of income to the house- these measures allow us to capture important variation hold"(Germano 2010,153).The LiK survey allows in the dynamics of remittance flows. us to capture both the amount and regularity of re- Our first measure captures changes in the amount mittances across all waves.Specifically,we rely on re- 4号元 of remitted income across the different survey waves. spondents'answers to the following questions:'How It relies on respondents'answers to two survey ques- much money did household migrants send over the tions.First,respondents were asked:'During the last last 12 months?'for the amount,and 'Did you receive 12 months,did you receive any money from abroad the money sent by migrants always at the same point sent by migrants who are members of this household?' of time (is the receiving of money regular)?'for reg- Second,respondents who indicated that they received ularity.Regarding the amount of remittances,we re- money sent by migrants were asked 'How much money coded the amount received (in Som)into three cat- did household migrants send over the last 12 months? egories:1)those that received amounts ranging be- The variable Change in Amount of Remittances (-1) tween the minimum and mean value in the respective subtracts the amount of money received in wave t-1 survey wave,2)those that received amounts between from the amount of money received at wave t for each the mean and one standard deviation above the mean respondent.It therefore captures the change in the value in the respective survey wave,and 3)those that amount of remitted income received by each respon- received amounts larger than one standard deviation dent between survey waves.Respondents were asked above the mean value in the respective survey wave. to report the amount of money in the currency in which Regarding the regularity of remittances,respondents they received it,that is to say Kyrgyz Som,Russian could choose between the following answer categories: Rubles,US Dollars,or Euros.In order to ensure that '1)yes,2)no or 3)different (varies).We recoded the the magnitude of changes in the amount of remitted in- answer in the following way:1)no,2)different and 3) come are comparable,we transferred all amounts into yes.In keeping with Germano(2010),we added both Kyrgyz Som by using the average exchange rate over measures to a Remittance Index that takes on a mini- the year (for more detailed information see Table A.4 mum value of 1 and a maximum value of 6(for more of the SI).The variable Change in Amount of Remit- information on the construction of the Remittance In- tances()varies between-23.4 and 35.7i.e.from 234to dex see Table A.5 of the SI).We constructed the vari- 357 thousand Som.With the 2010-2013 average Som to able Change in Remittance Index(1)that subtracts the US Dollar exchange rate,these changes approximately value of the index in wave t-1 from the value of the in- vary between a maximum decrease of 5 and maximum dex in wave t for each respondent.The variable Change increase of 8 thousand US Dollars respectively. in Remittance Index-(1)ranges from a minimum value eys Our second measure captures the changes in the of-5 to a maximum value of 5. frequency with which respondents receive remittances In addition,we construct a dichotomous measure across survey waves.It relies on respondents'answers of declines in remitted income.Reduction in Remit- to the following survey question:'How many times tances.This variable takes on a value of 1 when respon- within the last 12 months did migrants send/bring dents experienced a reduction in the amount and/or money?'This question was asked only to those respon- frequency of remitted income,and 0 if they did not. dents who indicated that they received money from This dichotomous measure allows us to compare the ef- migrants abroad over the last 12 months.Respondents fect of experiencing a reduction in remittances to other were given six answer categories:'1)once,2)2-3 times, household income shocks that respondents were asked 3)4-5 times,4)6-10 times,5)11-12 times,and 6)more about in the Kyrgyz survey,and to check the robustness than 12 times.'The variable Change in Frequency of of our results against matching analyses. 765When the Money Stops and 12.3 percent in 2013. Households received their remitted income in four different currencies across the waves: 54.2 percent of households received remittances in Kyrgyz Som, 39.6 percent in Russian Rubles, 5.5 per￾cent in US Dollars, and 0.7 percent in Euros. Given that we are interested in the political consequences of fluctuations in remittances, our analyses focus on remittance recipients only. Between 2010 and 2011, 67.3 percent of remittance recipients experienced a change in the amount or frequency of money received, 63.6 percent experienced a change between 2012 and 2011, and 63.1 percent between 2012 and 2013. We explore the political effects of fluctuations in re￾mittances by relying on three different measures: 1) changes in the amount of remitted income received between survey waves, 2) changes in the frequency of remittances received between survey waves, and 3) changes in a Remittance Index that combines informa￾tion about both the amount and regularity of remit￾tances (Germano 2010). By moving beyond a simple dichotomous measure of receiving remittances or not, these measures allow us to capture important variation in the dynamics of remittance flows. Our first measure captures changes in the amount of remitted income across the different survey waves. It relies on respondents’ answers to two survey ques￾tions. First, respondents were asked: ‘During the last 12 months, did you receive any money from abroad sent by migrants who are members of this household?’ Second, respondents who indicated that they received money sent by migrants were asked ‘How much money did household migrants send over the last 12 months?’ The variable Change in Amount of Remittances t-(t-1) subtracts the amount of money received in wave t-1 from the amount of money received at wave t for each respondent. It therefore captures the change in the amount of remitted income received by each respon￾dent between survey waves. Respondents were asked to report the amount of money in the currency in which they received it, that is to say Kyrgyz Som, Russian Rubles, US Dollars, or Euros. In order to ensure that the magnitude of changes in the amount of remitted in￾come are comparable, we transferred all amounts into Kyrgyz Som by using the average exchange rate over the year (for more detailed information see Table A.4 of the SI). The variable Change in Amount of Remit￾tancest-(t-1) varies between -23.4 and 35.7,i.e. from 234 to 357 thousand Som.With the 2010–2013 average Som to US Dollar exchange rate, these changes approximately vary between a maximum decrease of 5 and maximum increase of 8 thousand US Dollars respectively. Our second measure captures the changes in the frequency with which respondents receive remittances across survey waves. It relies on respondents’ answers to the following survey question: ‘How many times within the last 12 months did migrants send/bring money?’ This question was asked only to those respon￾dents who indicated that they received money from migrants abroad over the last 12 months. Respondents were given six answer categories: ‘1) once, 2) 2–3 times, 3) 4–5 times, 4) 6–10 times, 5) 11–12 times, and 6) more than 12 times.’ The variable Change in Frequency of Remittancest-(t-1) subtracts the frequency with which re￾mittances were received in wave t-1 from the frequency in wave t for each respondent. Hence, the variable cap￾tures the change in the frequency with which respon￾dents received remittances from abroad between each survey wave. The variable Change in Frequency of Re￾mittances t-(t-1) ranges from a minimum value of -5 to a maximum value of 5. Our third measure relies on changes in a Remittance Index. This index taps into the degree to which re￾mittances are a substantial and reliable source of in￾come. While the continuous measures of remittances used here are an improvement on categorical measures, they might not capture the extent to which these finan￾cial flows constitute a substantial and reliable source of income. To overcome some of these issues, Germano (2010) developed the Remittance Index comprised of three components: the amount, the regularity and the duration of remittances received. The index thus cap￾tures “the extent to which remittances are a substantial, reliable, and enduring source of income to the house￾hold” (Germano 2010, 153). The LiK survey allows us to capture both the amount and regularity of re￾mittances across all waves. Specifically, we rely on re￾spondents’ answers to the following questions: ‘How much money did household migrants send over the last 12 months?’ for the amount, and ‘Did you receive the money sent by migrants always at the same point of time (is the receiving of money regular)?’ for reg￾ularity. Regarding the amount of remittances, we re￾coded the amount received (in Som) into three cat￾egories: 1) those that received amounts ranging be￾tween the minimum and mean value in the respective survey wave, 2) those that received amounts between the mean and one standard deviation above the mean value in the respective survey wave, and 3) those that received amounts larger than one standard deviation above the mean value in the respective survey wave. Regarding the regularity of remittances, respondents could choose between the following answer categories: ‘1) yes, 2) no or 3) different (varies)’. We recoded the answer in the following way: 1) no, 2) different and 3) yes. In keeping with Germano (2010), we added both measures to a Remittance Index that takes on a mini￾mum value of 1 and a maximum value of 6 (for more information on the construction of the Remittance In￾dex see Table A.5 of the SI). We constructed the vari￾able Change in Remittance Index t-(t-1) that subtracts the value of the index in wave t-1 from the value of the in￾dex in wave t for each respondent.The variable Change in Remittance Index t-(t-1) ranges from a minimum value of -5 to a maximum value of 5. In addition, we construct a dichotomous measure of declines in remitted income, Reduction in Remit￾tances.This variable takes on a value of 1 when respon￾dents experienced a reduction in the amount and/or frequency of remitted income, and 0 if they did not. This dichotomous measure allows us to compare the ef￾fect of experiencing a reduction in remittances to other household income shocks that respondents were asked about in the Kyrgyz survey, and to check the robustness of our results against matching analyses. 765 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Shanghai JiaoTong University, on 26 Oct 2018 at 03:53:04, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055418000485