Migration, Jobs, and Real Exchange Rates in the Philippines

This study tests whether exchange rate appreciation due to migration is tempered by the hiring of part-time workers. Quarterly data from 1994 to 2015 for the Philippines are employed. We find that not only increase in remittances, but also increase in migration appreciates real exchange rate. The results also show that underemployment tends to depreciate the exchange rate, which implies that the hiring structure does have a role on the long run real effective exchange rate.