Annotation :::: The authors provide empirical research related to migration and remittances in order to better understand migrant workers’ decision making on the usage and amount of their remittances. They also give some suggestions to local governments in sending places for promoting migration and remittances.The authors and their research team adopt the Appropriate Complete Sampling (ACS) method to conduct an empirical investigation of 844 families of rural migrant workers belonging to 52 communities in 8 city-districts of Beijing. After systematically discussing and analysing the migrant workers and their remittances, the authors present several findings. Firstly, the amount of remittances grows in conjunction with increases in the number and payment of migrant workers; secondly, although there is not clear evidence indicating that such remittances directly promote investment in local agricultural production, yet they play an indirect role in rural social development and contribute much to the local economy in the consumption field; thirdly, the remittances largely invested in housing have directly driven the demand for building materials, decorating materials, furniture, electrical appliances, daily necessities, etc., so as to accelerate the local commodity market; fourthly, the primary usage of remittances is to support parents, raise children and pay for tuition so as to reduce the local and rural public burden of social security. The paper also offers the following recommendations: governments in sending places must establish and improve local social security systems so that more remittances can be sent and invested in production and business fields; local and rural governments at all levels must promote vocational training for migrant workers so they can gain pay increases, and thereby end more remittances for investment in rural economic development; and local governments must strengthen the development of agricultural infrastructural facilities and the business environment so as to provide good conditions for the investment of remittances.
