Transnational migration in rural Oaxaca, Mexico: Dependency, development, and the household
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on three areas: the stage-specific development of transnational movement; the domestic cycle, household decision making, and migration/remittance outcomes; and the changing nature of community participation.
Abstract: Contradictory models of dependency and development have dominated the discussion of migration between Mexico and the United States. Transnational models of migration resolve these contradictions by defining a series of interdependencies (economy and society, for example). Using data collected in a rural Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico, this article focuses on three areas: the stage-specific development of transnational movement; the domestic cycle, household decision making, and migration/remittance outcomes; and the changing nature of community participation. Rooting the discussion in household decision making captures the important role local social variability and economic dynamism play in understanding transnational processes and advancing migration studies. [households, migration, transnationalism, dependency and development, Oaxaca, Mexico]
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine two heuristically defined positions regarding the relationship between international migration and rural economic development in Mexico: the structuralist or historical structuralist position of the 1970s and early 1980s that argued that remittances do not lead to rural economy development; and the functionalist position that argued the opposite.
Abstract: This article examines two heuristically defined positions regarding the relationship between international migration and rural economic development in Mexico: the `structuralist' or `historical structuralist' position of the 1970s and early 1980s that argued that remittances do not lead to rural economic development; and the `functionalist' position of the 1990s that argued the opposite. The author critiques systematically the functionalist position, then situates it politically in the context of failed neoliberal economic policies. He argues for the need to study international migration as a total social process, that takes into account the comparative impact of migrant labor on the US and Mexican economies. Despite its subordination of social actors to determining social structures, the structural approach offers a better starting point for a reformulated approach to the social and economic consequences of international migration in the contemporary world.
130 citations
TL;DR: Cohen et al. as discussed by the authors studied the social impacts of migration and investment of remittances in rural Oaxacan communities, focusing on the social impact of migration between Oaxaca, Mexico, and the United States.
Abstract: Studies in Comparative International Development, Spring 2005, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 88-112. Jeffrey H. Cohen is co-chair of Latin American Studies and assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Pennsylvania State University. His research on transnational migration between Oaxaca, Mexico, and the United States focuses on the social impacts of migration and investment of remittances in rural Oaxacan communities. Remittance Outcomes and Migration: Theoretical Contests, Real Opportunities
124 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, anthropological research on this concept among Mexicans and Mexican immigrants in the United States elaborates the concept, and promotes greater complementarity between quantitative and qualitative data on the topic, suggesting that when familismo is used in generalizing ways, it neglects the broader significance of nostalgia or of a larger social (extrafamilial) connectedness.
Abstract: Research on core cultural values has been central to behavioral and clinical research in ethnic groups. Familismo is one such construct, theorized as the strong identification and attachment of Hispanic persons with their nuclear and extended families. Our anthropological research on this concept among Mexicans and Mexican immigrants in the United States elaborates the concept, and promotes greater complementarity between quantitative and qualitative data on the topic. Ethnographic work spanning 3 sites over four years reveal that familismo as expressed in narratives is a more contested and evocative concept than most quantitative and behavioral literatures tend to suggest. By suggesting that when familismo is used in generalizing ways, it neglects the broader significance of nostalgia or of a larger social (extra-familial) connectedness, we do not ignore the need for population-based research. Instead, we hope to forward and crystallize studies of culture change in migrants and to sustain a complementary...
109 citations
Cites background from "Transnational migration in rural Oa..."
...…for many “sending” and “receiving” communities, where patterns are multigenerational and relatively stable within families and between paired U.S. and Mexico communities (Massey, 1987; Massey, et al., 1993; Cohen, 2001) These generational cycles of migration have been growing for almost a century....
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...See (Cohen, 2001; Kearney, 1986)....
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...and Mexico communities (Massey, 1987; Massey, et al., 1993; Cohen, 2001) These generational cycles of migration have been growing for almost a century....
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...Acculturative models of migration and change have been roundly exposed as simplistic and inaccurate (Cohen, 2001; Foner, 1997; Foner, 2003; Kearney, 1986; Schiller Basch, & Szanton-Blanc, 1995)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used multilevel discrete time event history analysis to specify the odds of union dissolution for male household heads by individual-and community-level US migration experience.
Abstract: This article provides an empirical test of the widely accepted assumption that migration contributes to union instability The data come from the Mexican Migration Project (MMP) data base MMP93 We use multilevel discrete time event history analysis to specify the odds of union dissolution for male household heads by individual- and community-level US migration experience In the context of the US-Mexico migration flow we find that US migration significantly increases the odds of union dissolution for individuals with extensive migration experience as well as for residents in communities with medium international migration levels We conclude that changes in normative values and social control levels for both individuals and communities are partial contributors to this relationship (authors)
97 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the renewed anthropology of kinship is employed to revisit historical approaches to the study of social relations taking place in transnational social fields, and the contextualization of the individual life courses of its members and their changing relatedness in the course of time brings to surface a complex design of factors that contribute to the sense of belonging or detachment in this Creole transnational island society.
Abstract: This article employs the renewed anthropology of kinship to revisit historical approaches to the study of social relations taking place in transnational social fields. Based on multi-sited qualitative anthropological fieldwork with a strong historical perspective centred on biographical interviews and social network analysis, the author examines a particular Cape Verdean household that comprises four generations and extends its contacts between several Cape Verdean islands, Portugal, Sao Tome/Principe as well as the United States. The contextualization of the individual life courses of its members and their changing relatedness in the course of time brings to surface a complex design of factors that contribute to the sense of belonging or detachment in this Creole transnational island society. These are different levels of mobility, the challenges and limits of diverse levels of technical connectivity between several localities, the dynamics between approved relatedness and family-based migration regimes ...
96 citations
References
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01 Jan 1994
2,860 citations
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01 Nov 1993
TL;DR: Transnational projects -a new perspective theoretical issues the making of West Indian transmigrant populations -example from St Vincent and Grenada the establishment of Haitian transnational practices and emergent identities as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Transnational projects - a new perspective theoretical issues the making of West Indian transmigrant populations - examples from St Vincent and Grenada the establishment of Haitian transnational practices and emergent identities.
2,427 citations
TL;DR: Transnationalism as mentioned in this paper defines the concept of transnationalism, provides a typology of this heterogeneous set of activities, and reviews some of the pitfalls in establishing and validating the topic as a novel research field.
Abstract: This introductory article defines the concept of transnationalism, provides a typology of this heterogeneous set of activities, and reviews some of the pitfalls in establishing and validating the topic as a novel research field. A set of guidelines to orient research in this field is presented and justified. Instances of immigrant political and economic transnationalism have existed in the past. We review some of the most prominent examples, but point to the distinct features that make the contemporary emergence of these activities across multiple national borders worthy of attention. The contents of this Special Issue and their bearing on the present understanding of this phenomenon and its practical implications are summarized.
2,094 citations
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: A detailed review of interconnections among individual behavior, household strategies, community structures, and national political economies indicates that inter-level and inter-temporal dependencies are inherent to the migration process and give it a strong internal momentum.
Abstract: This review culls disparate elements from the theoretical and research literature on human migration to argue for the construction of a theory of migration that simultaneously incorporates multiple levels of analysis within a longitudinal perspective. A detailed review of interconnections among individual behavior household strategies community structures and national political economies indicates that inter-level and inter-temporal dependencies are inherent to the migration process and give it a strong internal momentum. The dynamic interplay between network growth and individual migration labor migration remittances and local income distributions all create powerful feedback mechanisms that lead to the cumulative causation of migration. These mechanisms are reinforced and shaped by macrolevel relationships within the larger political economy. (authors)
1,355 citations
TL;DR: The article states that remittances may be a positive factor in economic development, which should be nurtured by economic policies, and varies across locales and is influenced by migrants' remittance behavior and by economic contexts.
Abstract: In 1995, international migrant remittances exceeded US$70 billion. How have these remittances shaped development in migrant sending areas? Pessimistic views on migration and development pervade the literature. In contrast, the new economics of labour migration (NELM) argues that migration may set in motion a development dynamic, lessening production and investment constraints faced by households in imperfect market environments and creating income growth linkages. This article assesses the development potential of remittances from a NELM perspective and cites empirical evidence that remittances may be a positive factor in economic development. Governments in migrant origin countries may increase the development potential of remittances through a variety of economic policies. Creating a fertile ground for remittances to contribute to broad based income growth in migrant sending areas is a key to promoting development from migration.
1,285 citations