This book explores migrant's global social remittances and their impacts on Europe. Exploring the topic from a range of disciplines including sociology, anthropology, geography and political science, the authors present empirical analyses covering a wide selection of international contexts across Europe, India, Iraq, Bolivia, Congo, Lebanon and Thailand. The book presents migrants not as Europe’s ‘cultural others’ but as an integral part of Europe’s global connection, and scrutinises the flows of knowledge, ideas, money, objects and values which result from the process of migration, rather than the migrants themselves. A valuable contribution to the literature on migrant transnationalism and globalisation, this book will appeal to scholars across the social sciences.

Migration in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is relatively large by international standards, driven both by political factors (the 1990 collapse of the Soviet system, ensuing emergence of conflicts and new states, and opening of borders with Europe) and economic factors (abrupt economic deterioration and corresponding search for better employment and living conditions). The report anlayzes the different kinds of migration as well as the policies on both sides of the equation to limit negative side effects (like emargination, criminal activities, and brain drain) and maximize positive ones (increased labor pool for services, remittances, return migration with improved human and financial capital).

During the 2008 financial crisis, the possible changes in remittance-sending behavior and potential avenues to alleviate a probable decline in remittance flows became concerns. This book brings together a wide array of studies from around the world focusing on the recent trends in remittance flows. The authors have gathered a select group of researchers from academic, practitioner and policy making bodies. Thus the book can be seen as a conversation between the different stakeholders involved in or affected by remittance flows globally. The book is a first-of-its-kind attempt to analyze the effects of an ongoing crisis on remittance flows globally. Data analyzed by the book reveals three trends. First, The more diversified the destinations and the labour markets for migrants the more resilient are the remittances sent by migrants. Second, the lower the barriers to labor mobility, the stronger the link between remittances and economic cycles in that corridor. And third, as remittances proved to be relatively resilient in comparison to private capital flows, many remittance-dependent countries became even more dependent on remittance inflows for meeting external financing needs. There are several reasons for migration and remittances to be relatively resilient to the crisis. First, remittances are sent by the stock (cumulative flows) of migrants, not only by the recent arrivals (in fact, recent arrivals often do not remit as regularly as they must establish themselves in their new homes). Second, contrary to expectations, return migration did not take place as expected even as the financial crisis reduced employment opportunities in the US and Europe. Third, in addition to the persistence of migrant stocks that lent persistence to remittance flows, existing migrants often absorbed income shocks and continued to send money home. Fourth, if some migrants did return or had the intention to return, they tended to take their savings back to their country of origin. Finally, exchange rate movements during the crisis caused unexpected changes in remittance behavior: as local currencies of many remittance recipient countries depreciated sharply against the US dollar, they produced a sale effect on remittance behavior of migrants in the US and other destination countries.

This open access book explores the transformative effects of remittances. Remittances are conceptualized as flows of money, objects, ideas, traditions, and symbolic capital, mapping out a cross-border space in which people live, work, and communicate with multiple belongings. By doing so, they effect social change both in places of origin and destination. However, their power to improve individual living conditions and community infrastructure mainly results from global inequality. Hence, we challenge the remittance mantra and go beyond the migration-development-nexus by revealing dependencies and frictions in remittance relations. Remittances are thus scrutinized in their effects on both social cohesion and social rupture. By highlighting the transformative effects of remittance in the context of conflict, climate change, and the postcolonial, we shed light on the future of transnational society. Presenting empirical case studies from Ghana, Burkina Faso, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Turkey, Lebanon, USA, Japan, and various European countries, as well as historical North America and the Habsburg Empire, we explore remittance relations from a range of disciplines including anthropology, sociology, history, design, architecture, governance, and peace studies.

International migration, the movement of people across international boundaries, has enormous economic, social and cultural implications in both origin and destination countries. Using original research, this title examines the determinants of migration, the impact of remittances and migration on poverty, welfare, and investment decisions, and the consequences of brain drain, brain gain, and brain waste.

This book provides a multidisciplinary analysis of the links between migration and remittances. The role of remittances in influencing migration decision is explored in relation to economic development, education, the labour market, and social factors. The impact of remittances on migration is examined from a global perspective, with a focus on both specific countries and larger regions, such as the European Union and the former Soviet states. The challenges in managing migration flows are also discussed, alongside the impact of COVID-19 on migration, and policy suggestions are made for the efficient management of labour migration. This book aims to offer a comparative analysis of the impact of remittances resulting from labour migration and foreign direct investment on the economic growth. It will be relevant to researchers and policymakers interested in labour and migration economics.