El papel de las remesas en los hogares de Chiapas Consumo, inversión o ahorro? Una vía para el desarrollo?

The aim of this paper is to analyze the relevance of remittances in the economic structure of the households in Chiapas, as well as the use of them, with the intention of knowing the extent they help to the economic reproduction in the state. To do this, first we review the theoretical discussion on the conceptualization of these transfers and their ability to act as a lever of economic development. Then, with data from the ENIGH 2010, we calculate the proportion of households receiving remittances and the relationship of these transfers with the levels and structures of income and expenditure of families, finding that remittances tend to replace the labor remunerations that households lose when a member goes abroad. Also, it is found that, in the short term, a significant proportion of remittances go to savings.