Latino Hometown associations as agents of development

initiated a project examining the potential contribution of remittances to social and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean — as well as to the economic and social well-being of Latino communities in the United States. This paper is one of a series of working papers produced as part of the project. In this paper, Dr. Manuel Orozco examines Latino hometown associations (HTAs) and their considerable growth over the past decade. These organizations are formed by groups of immi-grants hailing from the same towns. While their focus has been primarily on supporting the immigrant community in the United States, in recent years a growing number of HTAs have begun to send collective remittances back home for community development projects such as paving roads, building schools, and buying ambulances. Dr. Orozco studies HTAs formed by Domincans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, and Salvadorans in several cities in the United States. He concludes that there are several characteristics common to almost all HTAs, including their informal and voluntary structure, sporadic relationships with municipalities in the hometowns, and small economic base. He notes the potential of HTAs to contribute to economic develop-ment, but cautions that HTAs will not be uniformly successful. He makes three recommenda