Personal Remittances: An Empirical Study in Oman

This study highlights the importance of remittance, the factors which affect the percentage of income remitted, and the investment options available to reduce remittance. For the year 2019, the remittances from Oman totaled $9.1 billion. Oman was among the top remitters with remittance to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio of 11.9%. A survey was conducted on 300 resident expats in Oman. The descriptive analysis shows that the maximum remittance percentage is between 21%–40% of income. The multinomial logistic regression results show that outward remittance depends on gender, age, occupation, number of dependent in Oman, and the number of dependent in the home country. Regarding investment, the most preferred investment option is business, followed by real estate and financial services. Age and education are found to affect investment options. This paper tries to fill the literature gap, especially for the case of Oman, by exploring what determines the level of remittance and the preferred choices for retaining funds. This study adds to the existing literature, as no previous study is available regarding how personal factors can influence the level of remittance and investment in a small oil-exporting developing country like Oman. The study will be helpful to policymakers and academicians in devising policies to retain and invest the outwards remittances in Oman.