THE IMPACT OF FOREIGN REMITTANCES ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF HOUSEHOLDS (A CASE STUDY OF RURAL AREAS IN DIR LOWER, NWFP)

This study examines the role of remittances of oversees emigrants in strengthening the ability of their left behind families to protect against socio-economic discomforts of life. One hundred emigrants’ families were accessed for interview through snowball sampling method in four villages of Dir (Lower) district i.e. Haji Abad, Sher Khaney, Mulyano Banda and Takatak, in year 2008. The major findings of the study reveal that remittances have impacted the social status of emigrants’ families by improving their life style, furnishing them with the opportunity to send children to standard educational institutions, and changing the behaviour of relatives/ friends towards the recipient families. The recipient families generated different forms of economic activities such as micro level business, investment in real estate, and purchase of agricultural land etc. The study recommends that the government and other concerned departments should provide a secure and conducive environment to the emigrants’ families to utilize remittances at national level.