Young Migrant Trajectories from Bolivia to Argentina: Changes and Continuities in an Era of Globalization

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in migration during the life course stages of childhood and youth (for example, de Lima et al. 2012; Gardner 2012; Hashim and Thorsen 2011; White et al. 2011). Migration offers a range of opportunities and constraints for children and young people. The advantages may include regular work, higher wages, ability to send remittances home, opportunity to travel, acquisition of new skills and possibly higher social status back home (Punch 2007; Thorsen 2006). The disadvantages tend to involve difficulties in leaving home for the first time, particularly at a young age, status as an outsider, long working hours, poor working conditions and family ties that may constrain the nature of their migration. Such benefits and limitations are likely to vary according to young people’s age, gender, birth order, family ties and peer and sibling relationships (Punch 2010). Furthermore, migration frequently encompasses both continuity and change (McHugh 2000) as young migrants negotiate their new livelihoods and relationships while often retaining links with their families and community of origin. Hence, it is pertinent to consider migration in relation to children and young people, particularly as migration is often intertwined with life course trajectories as children move from childhood, through youth and toward adulthood.