SOCIAL REMITTANCES: KEY AGENT IN MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT Peoples’ ideas, practices and experiences prior to migration not only influence how they interpret their new context and who and what they encounter there, but also what they transfer back to their contexts of origin. This is captured by the notion of ‘social remittances’ Migration affects cultural factors, including how ‘development’ is conceived in the context of origin of migrants. Migration also affects people’s aspirations to move. Migration decisions, for example, may be influenced by accurate or inaccurate information that circulates among migrant networks, including the experiences and stories of pioneer migrants. In localities characterized by high rates of migration, researchers have also observed the formation of `cultures of migration’; this refers to the prospect of migration becoming rooted in the practices of locals, as a normal part of their life course, including the intergenerational transmission of the aspiration to move. Martine Cassar Officer In Charge IOM Malta

IOM Worldwide Presence ……. 132 Member States; Regional Offices + 7,250 staff Special Liaison Offices Administrative Centres 97% posted in the field Capacity Building Centre Research and Training Centre More than 460 Offices in 130 Countries Country Offices

IOM works in the four broad areas of migration management: Migration and development Facilitating migration Regulating migration Movement, emergency and post-crisis migration management Movement, emergency and post-crisis migration management Transporting persons in need of assistance is key to IOM's overall mission of meeting global migration challenges. IOM organizes the safe movement of persons for temporary and permanent resettlement or return to their countries of origin. IOM is also able to provide medical screening, migration documentation assistance and cultural orientation prior to departure. 3

IOM The basis for IOM’s work in migration and development can be found in its Constitution, which states that “migration may stimulate the creation of new economic opportunities in receiving countries and that a relationship exists between migration and the economic, social and cultural conditions in developing countries”. 4

IOM IOM currently implements migration and development projects under three project types: Economic and Community Development; Remittances; Skills Transfer, Capacity-Building and Return Projects. 5

Migration: Impact on Development Positives Economic gain - remittances, investment etc. Labor market and employment opportunities abroad (enhanced mobility of labor force) Migration can empower women/other groups Impacts on social institutions - origin & destination countries Migrants as development agents (human, social capital, skills, fostering innovation, progress and advancement) Diaspora as a source for economic and social development Return (brain circulation) can maximize developmental impacts of migration by transfer of skills Equalizing effects on income of origin countries 6

Migration: Impact on Development Negatives Brain-drain (loss of human capital, including highly qualified specialists); Social: torn families, children left behind, weakening the social protection system Inflation impact on economy/pressure on currency exchange rate Increased inequality/disparity in incomes Creation of a “tradition of migration” Irregular migration harms inter-state relations Remedy A comprehensive migration policy needed at the national level, supported by appropriate legislations and implementing mechanisms 7

The Importance of Social Remittances Social remittances are the ideas behaviors, identities and social capital that flow from receiving to sending country communities. The role that these resources play in promoting immigrant entrepreneurship, community and family formation, and political integration is widely acknowledged. Several factors heighten the intensity and durability of transnational ties among contemporary migrants including: 1. ease of travel and communication 2. the increasingly important role migrants play in sending country economies 3. attempts by sending states tp legitimize themselves by providing services to migrants and their children 4. the increased importance of the receiving country states in the economic and political futures of sending societies 5. the social and political marginalization of migrants in their host countries. These factors mean that in some cases migrants may be active in their countries of origin and destination for extended periods. 8

The Importance of Social Remittances Remittances are valued monetarily, but also socially, culturally, and morally (Fuentes, 2012) Remittance sending is shaped by “transnational identity” (Levitt, 2007) and the networks that the transnational identity gets formed within. Remittance is “gendered” (International Migration of Women, 2010) and shaped individually by the way women and men understand and have control over it “Social remittances are an under-utilized development resource that have the potential to be purposefully harnessed to improve socioeconomic outcomes in both sending and receiving countries.” (Levitt, 2005: 6) 9

Types of Social Remittances There are various types of social remittances: Normative Structures Systems Of Practice Social Capital 10

Types of Social Remittances Normative structures Ideas, values, and beliefs Norms for behavior, notions about family responsibility, principles of neighborliness, community participation, and aspirations for social mobility Ideas about gender, race, and class identity Values about how organizations should work, incorporating ideas about good government and good churches and about how politicians and clergy should behave. 11

Types of Social Remittances Systems of practice are the actions shaped by normative structures Household tasks Religious rituals Political and civic groups Organizational practices such as recruiting and socializing new members, goal setting and strategizing, establishing leadership roles, and forming interagency ties 12

Types of Social Remittances Social Capital is based on the values and norms Social and political leaders can sometimes harness the status they acquire in the host country to advance their cause in the homeland Decreases in migrant social capital are also register Defined initially by Bourdieu (1986) as an attribute of an individual in a social context, social capital has evolved in two directions. The first one concentrates on collective social norms, trust and networks that can improve the efficiency of society (Putnam, 2000), and the second one focuses on the individual’s obligations and expectations that take the form of a “capital” invested in one person for future use (Coleman, 1988). Rarely, these two dimensions are met together in a definition of social capital, yet they are both essential for understanding social remittances. Individual dimension of social capital According to this perspective, individual’s obligations and expectations take the form of a capital invested in other people for future use. In other words, if A does something for B and trust B to reciprocate in the future, this establishes an expectation in A and an obligation on the part of B. This obligation can be conceived as a credit slip held by A for performance by B. Diaspora and the power of social capital Despite long distances between them, migrants and their relatives share the same social space (Levitt, 2005), as they are members of the same networks that stretch between the sending community and its migrants (Grasmuck and Pessar, 1991; Levitt, 2001). More recent research emphasizes that these networks encompass not only the two host and home communities, but multiple others, all of them contributing to building the identity of the new immigrant. 13

Mechanisms of Transmission Migrants who return to live in or visit their communities of origin Individuals who visit their friends and family in a receiving country Through letters, videos, e-mails, blogs, and phone calls Through internet or television 14

Collective Social Remittances Social remittances are also harnessed collectively Sometimes migrants and non-migrants organize separate organizations, partnering with whatever group best furthers their specific project goals. Collective social-remittance exchanges reinforce a respect for the rules and laws that migrants observe in the receiving states and change ideas about planning, development, and progress. Migrant members support sports and cultural activities because they grow accustomed to these and they see them as a way to keep families together, help youth, and nurture new talents. Social remittances are not only individual-to-individual transfers (between people who know one another personally), but they can also be collective transfers; for example, when migrant associations working in different (receiving and sending contexts) exchange their practices, their organizational knowledge and practical know-how (Levitt and Lamba-Nieves, 2011: 18–19). 15

The impact is dependent on the broader economic and political context THE CONTRIBUTION OF SOCIAL REMITTANCES & OTHER DIASPORA RESOURCES TO DEVELOPMENT The impact is dependent on the broader economic and political context Migrants as catalyst of positive change Experience of a fairer, more organized and more equitable political system Raise demands for a different kind of politics Enact change Change status of migrant and non-migrant women Changed gender roles, new perspectives on involvement in communities Improves socioeconomic indicators Health, education, and class status are not merely local but transnational developed (Levitt, 2005:6)), and racial relations are reconsidered (promotion of more communication and tolerance between groups?) 16

Potential role of the diasporas THE CONTRIBUTION OF SOCIAL REMITTANCES & OTHER DIASPORA RESOURCES TO DEVELOPMENT Potential role of the diasporas Sharing of know-how and innovative practices through transnational networks Knowledge of the local context in origin countries and the in the destination country Networks and contacts in origin and destination countries Transfer of skills, technology and ideas Transfer of new values, expectations, ideas and social capital New techniques and transfer of human capital Donation of technology Virtual transfer of skills 17

The potential role of diaspora members in peacebuilding THE CONTRIBUTION OF SOCIAL REMITTANCES & OTHER DIASPORA RESOURCES TO DEVELOPMENT The potential role of diaspora members in peacebuilding Provide a lifeline to relatives, e.g. Haiti, Somalia Support reconstruction efforts Key message: This role could be explored and strengthened further  see UN SG 2009 report on “Peacebuilding in the immediate aftermath of conflict“ 18

D I A S P O R A HUMAN IOM 3Es STRATEGIC APPROACH C U L T U R A L R E S O U R C E S HUMAN C U L T U R A L S O C I A L & ECONOMIC ENGAGE Reach out & understand •Mapping •Migration Profiles •Outreach & awareness ENABLE Reduce obstacles •Development planning •Migrant protection •Integration EMPOWER Initiate sustainable collaboration. Transfer skills & resources Return – long-term, temporary and virtual Investment and remittances 19 19

Introducing negative models COSTS OF SOCIAL REMITTANCES Introducing negative models individuals and community leaders often speak about their fear that migrants import values that weaken families, deify consumerism, and encourage sexual permissiveness. Migrants and non migrants are also concerned about residents who get deported after engaging in criminal activities. Class stratification is often worsened because of migration. 20 20

POLICY IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 21

POLICY IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Main policy directions of the Government To create effective mechanisms for management and monitoring of migration flows To improve the knowledge and capacity of migrant workers and their families to channel and use their remittances To improve the linkages of the Government with Diaspora To improve remuneration of labour and a continued increase of state guaranties in this area To promote voluntary return migration and reintegration programs To promote mobility of labour force/circular migration 22 22

POLICY IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Policies required to enhance the productive use of remittances Engaging Diaspora in homeland development Implementing migrant outreach policy, stimulating confidence about homeland and building migrant partnerships Improving data on remittances by expanding and improving remittance data collection practices, research, analysis, and policies Focusing on the social nature of remittances and the dynamic between decision to participate in labor market with education— what could this add to poverty alleviation for individualized countries? 23 23

Thank you mcassar@iom.int 25