Santo Domingo. - The head of the Economic Development Organization’s (OECD) Latin America Unit yesterday said the country must take advantage of remittances its citizens receive and to turn them into a financial catalyst for the local economy, through programs such as bonds focused towards the nationals who live abroad.

The economist Jeff Dayton, who dictated a conference in the Global Foundation, Democracy and Development (Funglode), coordinated by the Economy Ministry, said if channeled correctly, the money from  remittances can serve to create innovations in the market structure and the financial services linked to the sector.

He cited sub-Sahara Africa as an example, where mobile phone use has developed qualitatively because those who receive remittances review their account from their cell phones.

In Dominican Republic’s case Dayton said the brain drain from emigration is nearly 10%, a figure which provides a perspective on the possibility of stimulating Dominicans abroad to invest in “diaspora bonds.”

“India and Israel are both more remarkable countries in the use of this instrument. In both cases at times of war these countries have focused on the population which lives abroad, and by taking advantage of a feeling of nostalgia have obtained funds from them via bonds,” the economist said.