transnational communities

Transnational Communities- not your grandfather’s diaspora -

Boston Redevelopment AuthorityAlvaro Lima,

April, 2016

Traditional Understanding – The Migration Flow

ADMISSION: Who? How many?

What kind?

poverty

stagnation

overpopulation

etc…

Traditional Understanding – The Migration Flow

WHY?

CountryTotal

Population (millions)

Population from

Developing Countries (millions)

Percent of Total

Population

Top Five Source

Countries (percent of

total)

Top Five Source Countries

United States

Spain

France

UK

Netherlands

Portugal

Japan

281.4

40.8

58.5

58.8

16.0

10.4

127

28.4

1.5

3.7

3.0

1.2

0.5

1.2

10.1

3.7

6.4

5.1

7.6

4.5

1.0

45.2

44.2

20.4

30.1

48.6

62.8

69.6

Mexico, Philippines, Puerto Rico, India, China

Morocco, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela

Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Vietnam

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jamaica, South Africa

Suriname, Turkey, Indonesia, Morocco, Netherlands Antilles

Angola, Mozambique, Brazil, Cape Verde, Venezuela

North Korea, South Korea, China, Brazil, Philippines

Foreign-Born Population of Rich OECD Countries from Developing Countries

Source: Let Their People Come, Lant Pritchett, 2006

labor market

housingeducation

etc…

Traditional Understanding – The Settlement (1)

ESOL

entrepreneurship

Contexts of Exit and Incorporation

Context of Incorporation:Inclusion & Exclusion StructuresAlien versus Citizenship RightsGovernment & Other Support SystemsRace and Ethnicity Structuresetc.

Context of Exit:Education LevelRace & EthnicityFamily WealthUrban versus Rural OriginGovernment & Other Support Systemsetc.

New Understand - Immigrant Transnationalism

Drivers of Transnationalism

Developments in the means of transportation and communications have changed the relations between people and places (costs);

International migrations have become crucial to the demographic future of many developed countries;

Global political transformations and new international legal regimes weakened the state as the only legitimate source of rights;

Fostered by global consumption, global production, and immigration, cultural hybridization are substituting folkloric romanticism and political nationalism enshrined as essences of national cultures;

Transnational platforms

New Possibilities – Transnational Platforms

Transnational platforms

www.digaai.com

Projeto Remessas - Remittances

Measuring Transnationalism

The Six Ts of Transnationalism

Source: Transnational Engagement, Remittances and their Relationship to Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University, Manuel Orozco, Principal Investigator, 2003.

$875

$398

$331

$218

$-

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

$600

$700

$800

$900

BrazilEcuador

México

GuatemalaGuyana

Dominican R.

Colombia

Nicaragua

El Salvador

HondurasCuba

Monthly Remittance by Nationality

$278 $274

$192 $188 $185 $177$113

ABOVE AVERAGE

BELOW AVERAGE

AVERAGE = $294

45.4%

20.5%17.8%

5.1% 4.9% 3.7% 1.6% 0.8% 0.2%0.0%5.0%

10.0%15.0%20.0%25.0%30.0%35.0%40.0%45.0%50.0%

Foods and spices

Videos, DVDs, CDs

Clothing

Newspapers/magazines

BooksAlcohol

Cigarettes

Craft Items

Others

Purchasing of Nostalgic Products Among Brazilians

37.6%

28.9%26.0%

5.5%

1.6% 0.3%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

Does nothave / NR

Checkingaccount

Savingsaccount

Credit card Investmentaccount

Foreigncurrencysavings

Financial Accounts in Country of Origin - Brazil

MEASURING TRANSNATIONALIS

M

46.6%

36.80%

27.0%

22.7%20.0%

15.3% 14.0%10.3% 9.1%

5.7%3.7%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%

GuyanaBrazil

Ecuador

Honduras

Colombia

Nicaragua

Dominican R.

MéxicoCuba

El Salvador

Guatemala

Help Beyond Remittances

AVERAGE = 19.2%

ABOVE AVERAGE

BELOW AVERAGE

14

26.3%

12.4%10.0%

6.7%5.0%

4.0% 3.5% 3.3% 2.8% 2.4%0.0%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

GuyanaBrazil

Ecuador

Honduras

Colombia

Nicaragua

Mexico

Dominican R.

Guatemala

El Salvador

Cuba

Support of Hometown Associations

AVERAGE = 6.7%

ABOVE AVERAGE

BELOW AVERAGE

MEASURING TRANSNATIONALIS

M

MEASURING TRANSNATIONALIS

M