Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Buying membership in the transnational community:migrant remittances, social status, and assimilation

Population Research and Policy Review volume 24, pages 231–261 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

I analyze the effects that social status and immigrant incorporation have on migrant remittances. Understanding remittances as one type of transnational practice, I conceptualize them as the fee that migrants pay to remain members of the transnational community. I define a “status hypothesis” in terms consistent with the view of transnational engagement as a response to status loss, predicting a negative association between increases in social status and remittances. Since immigrant incorporation usually entails status gain, this hypothesis is consistent with the conventional assimilation paradigm. While the status hypothesis could be linked to the new economics of labor migration as well, it collides with the view of transnationalism as an alternative path for successful immigrant incorporation. Using data on male Mexican migrants to the United States, I find enough support for the status hypothesis, indicating the need to clarify the ultimate meaning of transnational practices. In addition, my analysis shows that there is room to integrate economic theory, the assimilation paradigm, and the transnational perspective into a comprehensive understanding of transnational engagement.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  • R. Alba V. Nee (1999) NoChapterTitle C. P. J. Hirschman Kasinitz DeWind (Eds) Rethinking assimilation theory for a new era of immigration Russell Sage Foundation New York 137–160

    Google Scholar 

  • R.D. Alba (1985) Italian Americans: Into the twilight of ethnicity Prentice Hall Englewood Cliffs, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • R.D. Alba (1990) Ethnic identity: The transformation of white America Yale University Press New Haven, CT

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Banerjee (1984) ArticleTitleThe probability, size, and uses of remittances from urban to rural areas in India Journal of Development Economics 16 IssueID3 293–311 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0304-3878(84)90080-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • L. Basch N. Glick Schiller C. Blanc-Szanton (1994) Nations unbound: Transnational projects, postcolonial predicaments, and deterritorialized nation-states Gordon and Breach New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Bendixen & Associates (2002). Survey of remittance senders: U.S. to Latin America. Presented at the Second Conference on Remittances as a Development Tool. Washington, DC, Inter-American Development Bank, February 26

  • M. Boyd D. Thomas (2001) ArticleTitleMatch or mismatch? The employment of immigrant engineers in Canada’s labor force Population Research and Policy Review 20 IssueID1–2 107–133 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1010625515456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cai, Q. (2000). Migrant remittances and family ties: A case study in China. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America (PAA), Los Angeles, CA, March 23–25

  • K. Chin (1999) Smuggled Chinese: Clandestine immigration to the United States Temple University Press Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  • B.R. Chiswick P.W Miller (2002) ArticleTitleImmigrant earnings: Language skills, linguistic concentrations and the business cycle Journal of Population Economics 15 IssueID1 31–57

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Constant D.S Massey (2002) ArticleTitleReturn migration by German guestworkers: Neoclassical versus new economic theories International Migration 40 IssueID4 5–38 Occurrence Handle10.1111/1468-2435.00204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • B. de la Brière E. Sadoulet A. de Janvry S. Lambert (2002) ArticleTitleThe roles of destination, gender, and household composition in explaining remittances: An analysis for the Dominican Sierra Journal of Development Studies 68 IssueID2 309–328

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Durand W. Kandel E.A. Parrado D.S. Massey (1996) ArticleTitleInternational migration and development in Mexican communities Demography 33 IssueID2 249–264 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:BymH38vntVM%3D Occurrence Handle8827168

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Y.L. Espiritu (2003) Home bound: Filipino American lives across cultures, communities and countries University of California Press Berkeley, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Funkhouser (1995) ArticleTitleRemittances from international migration: A comparison of El Salvador and Nicaragua The Review of Economics and Statistics 77 IssueID1 137–146

    Google Scholar 

  • O. Galor O. Stark (1990) ArticleTitleMigrants’ savings, the probability of return migration, and migrants’ performance International Economic Review 31 IssueID2 463–470

    Google Scholar 

  • H.B.G. Ganzeboom D.J Treiman (1996) ArticleTitleInternationally comparable measures of occupational status for the 1988 International Standard Classification of Occupations Social Science Research 25 IssueID3 201–239 Occurrence Handle10.1006/ssre.1996.0010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia Zamora, R. (2003). Los proyectos productivos con migrantes en México hoy. Paper presented at the Meetings of the Latin American Studies Association, Dallas, TX, March 27–29

  • E. Georges (1990) The making of a transnational community: Migration, development and cultural change in the Dominican Republic Columbia University Press New York

    Google Scholar 

  • N. Glick Schiller (1999) Transmigrants and nation-states: Something old and something new in the U.S. immigrant experience C. P. J. Hirschman Kasinitz DeWind (Eds) The handbook of international migration: The American experience Russell Sage Foundation New York 94–119

    Google Scholar 

  • N. Glick Schiller L. Basch C. Blanc-Szanton (1992) Towards a transnational perspective on migration: Race, class, ethnicity, and nationalism reconsidered New York Academy of Sciences New York

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Goldring (1998) NoChapterTitle M.P Smith L.E. Guarnizo (Eds) The power of status in transnational social fields New BrunsWick NJ: Transaction Publishers 165–195

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Goldring (2002) ArticleTitleThe Mexican state and transmigrant organizations Latin American Research Review 37 IssueID3 55–99

    Google Scholar 

  • C. González Gutiérrez (1995) ArticleTitleLa organización de los inmigrantes mexicanos en Los Angeles: La lealtad de los oriundos Revista Mexicana De Política Exterior 46 IssueIDPrimavera/Spring 59–101

    Google Scholar 

  • S. Grasmuck P.R. Pessar (1991) Between two islands: Dominican international migration University of California Press Berkeley, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • D.A. Green (1999) ArticleTitleImmigrant occupational attainment: Assimilation and mobility over time Journal of Labor Economics 17 IssueID1 49–79 Occurrence Handle10.1086/209913

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • L.E. Guarnizo (2003) ArticleTitleThe economics of transnational living International Migration Review 37 IssueID3 666–699

    Google Scholar 

  • L.E. Guarnizo A. Portes W. Haller (2003) ArticleTitleAssimilation and transnationalism: Determinants of transnational political action among contemporary migrants American Journal of Sociology 108 IssueID6 1211–1248 Occurrence Handle10.1086/375195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • T.J. Hatton J.G. Williamson (1998) The age of mass migration: Causes and economic impact Oxford University Press New York

    Google Scholar 

  • J.S. Hirsch (2000) En el norte la mujer manda: Gender, generation, and geography in a Mexican transnational community N. Foner (Eds) Immigration research for a new century multidisciplinary perspectives Russell Sage Foundation New York 369–389

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Hoddinott (1992) ArticleTitleModeling remittance flows in Kenya Journal of African Economies 1 IssueID2 206–232

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Hondagneu-Sotelo (1994) Gendered transitions: Mexican experiences of immigration University of California Press Berkeley, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • M.Y. Hsu (2000) Dreaming of gold, dreaming of home: Transnationalism and migration between the United States and South China Stanford University Press Stanford, CA 1882–1943

    Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameInstituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (1996) Clasificación Mexicana de ocupaciones (CMO) Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (INEGI) Mexico DF

    Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameInternational Monetary Fund (1993) Balance of payments manual EditionNumber5th ed. International Monetary Fund Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameInternational Monetary Fund (2002) Balance of payment statistics yearbook International Monetary Fund Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Itzigsohn (1995) ArticleTitleMigrant remittances, labor markets, and household strategies: A comparative analysis of low-income household strategies in the Caribbean Basin Social Forces 74 IssueID2 633–655

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Itzigsohn C. Dore Cabral E. Hernández Medina O. Vázquez (1999) ArticleTitleMapping Dominican transnationalism: Narrow and broad transnational practices Ethnic and Racial Studies 22 IssueID2 316–339 Occurrence Handle10.1080/014198799329503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. Itzigsohn S. Giorguli-Saucedo (2002) ArticleTitleImmigrant incorporation and sociocultural transnationalism International Migration Review 36 IssueID3 766–798

    Google Scholar 

  • J.C. Knowles R. Anker (1981) ArticleTitleAn analysis of income transfers in a developing country: The case of Kenya Journal of Development Economics 8 IssueID2 205–226 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0304-3878(81)90029-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.A. Kossoudji (1988) ArticleTitleEnglish language ability and the labor market opportunities of Hispanic and East Asian immigrant men Journal of Labor Economics 6 IssueID2 205–228 Occurrence Handle10.1086/298181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. Kyle (1999) ArticleTitleThe Otavalo trade diaspora: Social capital and transnational entrepreneurship Ethnic and Racial Studies 22 IssueID2 422–446 Occurrence Handle10.1080/014198799329549

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P. Landolt L. Autler S. Baires (1999) ArticleTitleFrom hermano lejano to hermano mayor: The dialectics of Salvadoran transnationalism Ethnic and Racial Studies 22 IssueID2 290–315 Occurrence Handle10.1080/014198799329495

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P. Levitt (2001) The transnational villagers University of California Press Berkeley, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Levitt J. DeWind S. Vertovec (2003) ArticleTitleInternational perspectives on transnational migration: An introduction International Migration Review 37 IssueID3 565–575

    Google Scholar 

  • D.P. Lindstrom (1996) ArticleTitleEconomic opportunity in Mexico and return migration from the United States Demography 33 IssueID3 357–374 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:ByiD38bgsFI%3D Occurrence Handle8875068

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • F. Lozano-Ascencio (1993) Bringing it back home: Remittances to Mexico from migrant workers in the United States Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, University of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA:

    Google Scholar 

  • R.E.B. Lucas O. Stark (1985) ArticleTitleMotivations to remit: Evidence from Botswana Journal of Political Economy 93 IssueID5 901–918 Occurrence Handle10.1086/261341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.J. Mahler (1995) American dreaming: Immigrant life on the margins Princeton University Press Princeton, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • D.S. Massey R. Alarcón J. Durand H. González (1987) Return to Aztlan: The social process of international migration from western Mexico University of California Press Berkeley, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • D.S. Massey J. Arango G. Hugo A. Kouaouci A. Pellegrino J.E. Taylor (1998) Worlds in motion: Understanding international migration at the end of the millennium Clarendon Press Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • D.S. Massey E.A. Parrado (1994) ArticleTitleMigradollars: The remittances and savings of Mexican migrants to the United States Population Research and Policy Review 13 IssueID1 3–30 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF01074319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameMultilateral Investment Fund (2001) Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean: Comparative statistics Inter-American Development Bank Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Nagengast M. Kearney (1990) ArticleTitleMixtec ethnicity: Social identity, political consciousness, and political activism Latin American Research Review 25 IssueID2 61–91

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Orozco (2000) Latino hometown associations as agents of development in Latin America Inter-American Development Bank Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Popkin (1999) ArticleTitleGuatemalan Mayan migration to Los Angeles: Constructing transnational linkages in the context of the settlement process Ethnic and Racial Studies 22 IssueID2 267–289 Occurrence Handle10.1080/014198799329486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Portes (1999) Immigration theory for a new century: Some problems and opportunities C. P. J. Hirschman Kasinitz DeWind (Eds) The handbook of international migration: The American experience Russell Sage Foundation New York 21–33

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Portes (2003) ArticleTitleConclusion: Theoretical convergencies and empirical evidence in the study of immigrant transnationalism International Migration Review 37 IssueID3 874–892

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Portes L.E. Guarnizo (1991) Tropical capitalists: U.S.-bound immigration and small enterprise development in the Dominican Republic S. Díaz-Briquets S. Weintraub (Eds) Migration, remittances, and small business development: Mexico and Caribbean basin countries Westview Press Boulder, CO 101–131

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Portes L.E. Guarnizo P Landolt (1999) ArticleTitleThe study of transnationalism: Pitfalls and promise of an emergent research field Ethnic and Racial Studies 22 IssueID2 217–237 Occurrence Handle10.1080/014198799329567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Portes W. Haller L.E Guarnizo (2002) ArticleTitleTransnational entrepreneurs: An alternative form of immigrant economic adaptation American Sociological Review 67 IssueID2 278–298

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Portes R.G. Rumbaut (1996) Immigrant America. A portrait EditionNumber2nd ed. University of California Press Berkeley, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A. & Zhou, M. (1993). The new second generation: Segmented assimilation and its variants, The Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science 530(November): 74–96

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Sana D.S. Massey (2000) ArticleTitleSeeking social security: An alternative motivation for Mexico–US migration International Migration 38 IssueID5 3–24 Occurrence Handle10.1111/1468-2435.00125 Occurrence Handle12349806

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • R.C. Smith (1998) Transnational localities: Community, technology and the politics of membership within the context of Mexico and U.S. migration M.P. Smith L.E. Guarnizo (Eds) Transnationalism from below Transaction Publishers New Brunswick, NJ 196–238

    Google Scholar 

  • O. Stark (1991) The migration of labor Basil Blackwell Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • O. Stark R.E.B. Lucas (1988) ArticleTitleMigration, remittances, and the family Economic Development and Cultural Change 36 IssueID3 465–481

    Google Scholar 

  • O. Stark J.E. Taylor (1989) ArticleTitleRelative deprivation and international migration Demography 26 IssueID1 1–14 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:BiaB1M%2FhtFA%3D Occurrence Handle2737350

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O. Stark J.E. Taylor (1991) ArticleTitleMigration incentives, migration types: The role of relative deprivation The Economic Journal 101 IssueID408 1163–1178

    Google Scholar 

  • O. Stark J.E. Taylor S. Yitzhaki (1986) ArticleTitleRemittances and inequality The Economic Journal 96 IssueID383 722–740

    Google Scholar 

  • Stata Corporation (2003), Stata base reference manual, Vol. 2. College Station, TX: Stata Press

  • J.E. Taylor (1987) ArticleTitleUndocumented Mexico–US migration and the returns to households in rural Mexico American Journal of Agricultural Economics 69 IssueID3 616–638

    Google Scholar 

  • J.E. Taylor (1992) ArticleTitleEarnings and mobility of legal and illegal immigrant workers in agriculture American Journal of Agricultural Economics 74 IssueID4 889–896

    Google Scholar 

  • J.E. Taylor (1999) ArticleTitleThe new economics of labour migration and the role of remittances in the development process International Migration 37 IssueID1 63–88 Occurrence Handle10.1111/1468-2435.00066 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DC%2BD38rosFGgsw%3D%3D Occurrence Handle12322077

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tong, Y. (2003), The role of remittance in return migration: The case of Nang Rong, Thailand. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA), Atlanta, GA, August 16–19

  • C. Winship L. Radbill (1994) ArticleTitleSampling weights and regression analysis Sociological Methods and Research 23 IssueID2 230–257

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Louisiana Population Data Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA , 70803, USA

    Mariano Sana

Authors
  1. Mariano Sana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sana, M. Buying membership in the transnational community:migrant remittances, social status, and assimilation. Popul Res Policy Rev 24, 231–261 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-005-4080-7

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-005-4080-7

Keywords

search

Navigation