This is a first of its kind book which examines the remittances in the two largest corridors in the World: India-Saudi Arabia and Mexico-U.S.A.
This book aims to treat remittances as an act of social norm involving individuals, nation-states, and diaspora communities. It treats remittances both as an act of individual obligation as well as a social fact that needs to be understood from the perspective of the actors, i.e., the givers and recipients. Using theories of motives of giving, policy analysis, international development, and international relations, the authors offer a compelling narrative of how and why remittances occur and the impacts on both the giver and recipient. The authors - both scholars of philanthropy and remittances - bring their shared perspective and understanding of this crucial phenomenon and delve deep into examining its impacts on community development and the relations between the nation-states. This book offers a sophisticated understanding of how vital remittances are to the world we live in.
The book sheds light on this important social reality and will be of value to researchers, academics, and students interested in remittances, as well as to practitioners working in the international development sector, NGO actors, and policy makers.
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction : Purpose of the book. 2. Motivations to send and receive: Background. 3. Growth of Money Transfers : Theorizing technology, distance and money. 4. Remittances by the numbers : How much is sent and where. 5. Policy and remittances: Human needs and the shaping of practice with policy. 6. Discourse of remittances: How it shapes praxis in India, USA and Mexico. 7. Case study: India as a receiver. 8. Remittances and the Persian Gulf nations. 9. Remittances as subaltern giving: The case of Mexico. 10. Remittances as ‘soft power’? : Examining the power of money-flows between communities and nation-states. 11. Conclusion: Forces shaping the future
About the Author :
Sabith Khan is the Program Director (Master of Public Policy and Administration) and Assistant Professor in the School of Management, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA, U.S.A.
Daisha M. Merritt is the Associate Department Chair of the Department of Management and Technology in the College of Business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Worldwide, U.S.A.
Review :
"The book of Khan and Merritt is an important contribution to a complete (full) understanding of all factors that intervene in the phenomenon of migration and remittances. They cover a lot of important topics regarding migration that economists, because of their training, do not pay attention.The chapters include a lot of field work that Khan and Merritt have done during several years." - Dr. Jesus Cervantes, Director, Statistics & Forum on Remittances in Latin America and the Caribbean Coordinator
"Khan and Merritt's book is an exciting contribution to our understanding of remittances. Remittances have grown in importance over the decades. Even as the flow of people has decreased in many countries, the flow of money has not. This book also helps explain why that is the case. They focus on two pairs of countries : Saudi Arabia-India and USA-Mexico, which have long been among the most important corridors for flow of money. This book is a great addition to the literature and a must read for anyone wanting to understand voluntary action, civil society in these contexts." - Dr. Shariq Siddiqui, Assistant Professor of Philanthropic Studies Director, Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Muslim Philanthropy Initiative
"Amidst the alarming discrepancy between the empirical and complex realities of migration and its perception by the general public, politicians, and policymakers, the publication of this book on remittances behavior based partly on migrants’ own narratives is particularly timely. Writing beyond the usual lens of macroeconomic policy, governance, and security that reduce remittances to dehumanized and decontextualized flows of money, the authors tell a "story of remittances" from below, that is, from the perspective of anonymous migrants who, through their remitting behavior, contribute to changing the socio-economic fabric of receiving communities. Readers will find in this book a sophisticated and nuanced examination of remittances and hopefully new avenues for future inquiries." - Dr. Hamza Safouane, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies (IMIS) - Osnabrück University, Germany
