This paper analyzes the impact of remittances on development in Ecuador at the macro level, as well as on some human capital variables. At the macro level, we find that remittances may not be contributing to balance-of-payments stability in Ecuador, contrary to what some official sources suggest. Regarding human capital, we find no significant effects of remittances on human capital variables. However, the paper does find significant effect on smoothing consumption, especially among non-poor households in the urban areas. To analyze the effect of remittances on human development, the paper uses a new data set.