Are all Dollars Equal? The Meanings Behind Migrants’ Financial Transfers

This paper provides a detailed analysis of financial remittances to families in rural Andean Ecuador. Five different types of transfers are identified and analyzed: family maintenance remittances, migrants’ savings, debt repayment, emergency money, and gift money. In each case, the dollars families...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: MATA-CODESAL, Diana
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:México
Institución:EL COLEGIO DE LA FRONTERA NORTE
Repositorio:Migraciones Internacionales
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:revistas.colef.mx:article/587
Acceso en línea:https://migracionesinternacionales.colef.mx/index.php/migracionesinternacionales/article/view/587
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:remittances
transnational families
gender
Andes
Ecuador
remesas
familias transnacionales
género
Descripción
Sumario:This paper provides a detailed analysis of financial remittances to families in rural Andean Ecuador. Five different types of transfers are identified and analyzed: family maintenance remittances, migrants’ savings, debt repayment, emergency money, and gift money. In each case, the dollars families receive as remittances have various meanings. In order to fully understand migrants’ money transfers to their families, the relationships between senders and receivers, which include mutual— and sometimes diverging—expectations and obligations, need to be taken into account. These relationships are complex, and shaped by gender, age, and kinship considerations.