Does International Migration Encourage Consumerism in the Country of Origin?—A Turkish Study

Abstract

As part of a larger inquiry into the consequences of international migration for those who remain in the country of origin, detailed interviews were conducted with 234 adults in four Turkish provinces. Three migrant-status categories were defined: (a) Returned migrants, (b) Non-migrant close kin or friends of migrants, and, as a control group, (c) All others. Group (a) was the most likely to own various manufactured items, and group (c) the least, with group (b) in between. But when, within each migrant-status category, those who did not own but wanted a particular item were added to those who already owned it, much of the difference by migrant-status disappeared. This was particularly so with regard to “necessities.” Controlling for age, sex, urban-rural residence, and schooling produced an essentially inconsistent pattern of association between these characteristics and owning or wanting a particular item. It did, however, reveal a widespread persistence of not wanting one or another of these items side by side with a pattern of wanting it. While owning or wanting something seemed to receive only limited support from the consumption patterns of relatives and friends, not wanting something seemed to receive considerable support from this source. This seems unlikely to continue, however, in the face of changes now taking place in Turkey.