<p>Perhaps more enlightening would be the reason why Remittances increased so much from 1976 to 1982, and then cooled off.</p>
<p>1977 was the year of a military coup in Pakistan (and the imposition of Martial Law), that was also, it appears, the beginning of deep structural socioeconomic changes. In such situation it is not uncommon to see a wave of emigration, among those that do not &quot;fit well&quot; in the new situation. But this rarely means that the emigrants severe all ties with the country back home, usually some family is left behind. Hence, increased Remittances.</p>
<p>In 1985 Martial Law was lifted and elections were held, and this could explain the downward trend.</p>
<p>So I would look into the emigration/repatrization flows in Pakistan during that era, coupled with the political situation and any economic reforms.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-04T22:40:30.307Z
It may have been a demand effect, a response to oil prices in the economies of the Middle East, which peaked in 1980, then slowly declined before collapsing in 1986; they did not really start to recover until 2002.
Henry
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2020-12-05T12:59:44.777Z
@Henry This is indeed a very reasonable explanation, probably more solid than my thought. Why don't you beef it up to an answer?
Alecos Papadopoulos
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2020-12-05T13:22:10.637Z
Because I have no idea whether it is true
Henry
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2020-12-05T13:33:59.707Z
@Henry Are you implying that _I_ do have an idea whether _my_ suggestion is true?
Alecos Papadopoulos
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-04T20:36:52.013Z
2020-12-04T20:36:52.013Z
Alecos Papadopoulos
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/j32Rq.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/j32Rq.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>I am trying to find out what caused the 2-decade long decline in remittances as a % of GDP. I have spent an hour trying to search for explanations but haven't found anything. I know its a long shoot and thought it won't hurt to ask here to see if anyone can explain the cause</p>

<macroeconomics><economic-growth><data><remittance>
What was the cause of the decline in remittances sent to Pakistan between 1982 and 2000?
hardy
# What was the cause of the decline in remittances sent to Pakistan between 1982 and 2000?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-12-04)

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/j32Rq.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/j32Rq.png)

I am trying to find out what caused the 2-decade long decline in remittances as a % of GDP. I have spent an hour trying to search for explanations but haven't found anything. I know its a long shoot and thought it won't hurt to ask here to see if anyone can explain the cause

**Tags:** macroeconomics, economic-growth, data, remittance


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-12-04. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

Perhaps more enlightening would be the reason why Remittances increased so much from 1976 to 1982, and then cooled off.

1977 was the year of a military coup in Pakistan (and the imposition of Martial Law), that was also, it appears, the beginning of deep structural socioeconomic changes. In such situation it is not uncommon to see a wave of emigration, among those that do not "fit well" in the new situation. But this rarely means that the emigrants severe all ties with the country back home, usually some family is left behind. Hence, increased Remittances.

In 1985 Martial Law was lifted and elections were held, and this could explain the downward trend.

So I would look into the emigration/repatrization flows in Pakistan during that era, coupled with the political situation and any economic reforms.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: It may have been a demand effect, a response to oil prices in the economies of the Middle East, which peaked in 1980, then slowly declined before collapsing in 1986; they did not really start to recover until 2002.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 This is indeed a very reasonable explanation, probably more solid than my thought. Why don't you beef it up to an answer?  
> **username_2**: Because I have no idea whether it is true  
> **username_1**: @username_2 Are you implying that _I_ do have an idea whether _my_ suggestion is true?  

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