Contenu du sommaire : L'argent des migrations

Remittances through the eye of international organisations : an international political agenda in the making Over the past fifteen years, the interest of international organisations in the impact of migration on development has increased substantially. The volume and effects of remittances on receiving areas clearly show how migrants can contribute to development. Therefore, remittances are central for international actors to define the reality of migration and develop policy recommendations. The World Bank, in particular, has stressed the value of remittances and collected empirical data. This article analyses the discourse produced by international organisations on remittances and shows that, despite their technocratic and depoliticised tone, they develop politically and ideologically marked worldviews that normatively define how the states, the private actors, and the migrants themselves should behave.

Migration and Remittances : when those who stay finance the one who leaves (Comoros, Togo) Circulation of money in international migrations became a central subject, handled at the same time by international organizations, national associative and political actors from the origin and host countries, researchers in social sciences and the media. Firstly, this article tries to explain how the figure of the immigrant sending money to his family gradually became standard. This process led to the omnipresence of cash flows sent by the emigrant in the North to his family in the South and made invisible other financial flows, in particular in the opposite direction. In a second step, the article, based on a comparative investigation led in Togo and Comoros, attempts to show that focusing on the money received by migrants from the South can emphasize the heterogeneity in migrants' practices and trajectories. The direction of flows can reveal the sociological profiles of the emigrants and their family.

Gold coins to wander over the world. Transnational circulations of gypsy families at the turn of the XXth century From the mid-nineteenth century, gypsy groups leave Europe heading towards America, and build transnational networks across Atlantic and Pacific area. The financial capacity of this community in the form of gold and silver coins and jewelry allows such a wide circulation. While immigration inspectors expect poor migrants, they find wealthy families who cleverly use their gold coins. These Gypsies develop various ways of self presentation, depending on the circumstances, exhibiting and hiding their wealth.

The Philippine Migration Industry and International Transfer of Domestic Workers This contribution considers the Filipino migration industry and the implications of the labour-brokering practices of the Philippine state. Through the study of Filipina domestic workers migration, the article tries to understand how this “industry” works and the reasons for its success. Specifically, it examines the state's techniques and procedures in training, regulating and promoting domestic workers' migration. It shows there are norms to become a “good” domestic worker, based on ability to adapt, docility, and servitude. These norms taught during the governmental training sessions migrant women must attend, are inextricably linked to remittances. This article highlights the ambiguous role of the government, as a protector and “migration broker”, in training domestic workers.

The Geographic and Upward Mobility of U.
S. and Canadian Citizens in Mexico : Migrants Economic Strategies and Government responses This article based on an ethnographic study explores the economic strategies of U.S. and Canadian migrants to Mérida (Mexico), for whom geographical mobility also means social mobility. Real estate deals involving foreign buyers and sellers add up to everyday expenses, resulting in the transfer of millions of US dollars from North to South America. The development of this type of migration – minor but economically important – has already prompted the governments of Mexico, the United States, Canada – and even Panama – to introduce new, increasingly sophisticated regulations defining the rights and status of migrants depending on their contribution to the local economy. These regulations also allow taxing mobile citizens and determine access to public services in the countries of origin as well as in the host countries. They aim at regulating the circulation of goods and services in the region and reflect both the competition between the states resulting from these mobility patterns and the willingness of the governments of North America to cooperate to limit capital flight and tax evasion.

The Link of Internal and International Migrants to their Households of origin: Cross-Analysis of Extended Families in Senegal Often studied in terms of remittances from international migration, intra-family transfers in Senegal may also stem from internal mobility. A detailed analysis of the relationship between the migrants, main contributors to the expenditures of their household of origin, and the recipients of their remittances is crucial to understand the dynamics of resource sharing and the social norms attached to these transfers. Using a qualitative survey conducted in Senegal in December 2012 allowed us comparing the statements of both types of migrants (domestic or international) and of members of their households who stayed back. This enabled us to contrast the different migration and socioeconomic patterns of individuals with comparable initial family conditions, as well as the different attitudes towards redistribution depending on the structure of the transfer network and on their position in the network.

Financial transfers, an issue of social reproduction for children of the Bamako petite bourgeoisie settled in Paris This article draws on the results of an ethnographic research conducted between 2007 and 2012 among Bamako migrants and students living in Paris. The analysis focuses on the sociological effects of financial transfers on the interviewees belonging to the urban petite bourgeoisie. Results show there is a link between money transfers from France to Mali and the notion of “intergenerational debt”. Transfers allow the migrant to become an active member of the family group and an adult. Also, the debt level is not determined at random, but varies according to the original social background of the interviewees. Financial transfers aim to maintain or even improve the socioeconomic situation of the family in Bamako. They are a stake of social reproduction.

Russian money, Tajik Ceremonies: Make and Break Connections Since the end of the Civil war in Tajikistan (1992-1997), one can observe the simultaneous increase of migratory flows of men going to Russia and of marriage expenditures. This article questions the role of remittances in negotiating (maintaining, breaking) kinship relations and logics of distribution and circulation of goods during rituals such as marriages, which enable “those who stay behind” to take part in solidarity and mutual help networks.

Internal, South-South and North-South Remittances : A comparative analysis Based on World Bank surveys, conducted in 2009 and 2010 in several African countries, this paper aims to document the profile of migrants, to identify factors that influence remittances, and to establish if there are differences in profile or remittance behaviour according to migration types (internal migration, migration between developing countries or migration to developed countries). Results show that the characteristics of internal migrants differ from those of international migrants and that some of the determinants of remittances vary depending on the type of migration. Furthermore, results suggest that altruism can explain remittances, in particular for internal migrants and migrants from developing countries.

Golden-egg geese, small businessmen or mugs? Use and misuse of Gulf emigrants' money in Cairo Return migration from the Gulf Cooperation Council monarchies and remittances give rise to contradictory expectations in Cairo. For their defenders, emigrants and their savings help to ease the social costs linked to the liberal policies gradually implemented from the 1970s. In the eyes of critics, emigrants convey moral and political decay. To distance itself from politically biased discourses on the use of migrant's savings, the article analyses how individual trajectories coil up within intricate configurations of power between the Gulf and Cairo. Based on ethnographic results gathered in Cairo between 2006 and 2011, the urban investments and lifestyles of forty-five households are scrutinized, in order to analyse how the money of migrants participates in the evolution of the city, and in reinventing social conflicts in the city.

When Migration Money Changes the Deal: Agricultural Development and Land Dynamics in a Locality of the Andean Province of Azuay (Ecuador) In the past few years, migration money has led to important changes in the parish of Octavio Cordero Palacios, in the Andean province of Azuay, Ecuador, as several migrants invested in farming after returning to their place of origin. While this has been observed elsewhere in developing countries, the Ecuadorian experience is different because former migrants are now the central actors of local land restructuring and sometimes create important conflicts. This raises the question of whether migration money creates new forms of power, beyond economic power.

From traveled to invested places. A Survey of Senegalese settled in Europe The Senegalese government often sees “Migration money” as a financial resource they can channel toward the development needs of the country. Beyond remittances to the family members left behind, international migrants' strategies to build a patrimony (land, housing or commercial) remains poorly documented. This article highlights the economic investment practices of Senegalese migrants. It favours a spatial approach linking the places where migrants invest with the places where they travel. The geography of these investments, resulting from the collective history of a cohort of Senegalese interviewed in Europe, questions the relevance of the debate on the link between international migration and the development of the “localities of origin”, and discusses the diversity of patrimonialization logics among Senegalese migrants.

The emergence of a transnational market for Indian real estate India has been the first receiver of remittances in the world for almost a decade. This article questions the relation between this fact and the real-estate boom in India. It first examines the different strategies developed by the recently emerged real estate industry to capture the huge financial potential of migrants. It then analyses how this entails new practices and actors, and affects the way the industry works. We examine here the theory that a transnational market for Indian real estate is emerging.

Migration linked micro-insurance: a false good idea Migrants and their families in Mexico and Latin America are an attractive niche market for microfinance institutions who find it difficult, however, to associate remittances and microcredit for productive investment. The recently introduced micro-insurance scheme specifically targeting them has failed, like other schemes before, despite shifting the paradigm by substituting “vulnerability” for “migration and development”. This sophisticated and inexpensive scheme offering repatriation of the deceased migrant's body and monthly compensation does not sell. It apparently fails to meet the financial needs of this multilocated financially constrained population for whim remittances are not a fantasy extra income but part of a sophisticated risk management strategy.

The emergence of a transnational commercial network: Catholic devotion with a focus on Bolivian migration The financial effects of Bolivian migration have recently attracted the attention of social scientists. However, few studies have focused on the financial effects of transnational religious networks. Yet, some Bolivian patron saint celebrations now weigh a lot in terms of migration money due to the commercial niches they feed, which benefit Bolivian artisans and musicians and enable migrants to expand their sociocultural practices abroad. Far from being an isolated investment by individual actors, the money spent in votive practices is largely canalized in a collective way through associations called fraternidades. In the last decade, their expansion to Bolivia's neighbouring countries, to the United States and to Europe has led the migrants to create filiale. Using ethnographic data (Argentina, Brazil, Spain), this article aims to evaluate the income circulating through those networks and its impact on the economic development of the country of origin as well as on the political recognition of migrants by political authorities.