Pakistan’s external account story is usually told through remittances, and for good reason. They finance the current account, support household consumption, and keep the balance of payments from becoming a recurring national humiliation. Yet the usual reading is also too narrow, because it treats remittances only as money. It does not ask whether they may also be a signal. The more useful question is not whether Pakistanis abroad are sending more dollars home. The more useful question is whet...

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