Transnational migration and the economy of funerals: Changing practices in Ghana
Transnational migration and the economy of funerals: Changing practices in Ghana
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1467-7660.2006.00512.x
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发表时间：
2006-09-01
影响因子：
3
通讯作者：
Smith, Lothar
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Mazzucato, Valentina;Kabki, Mirjam;Smith, Lothar
移民越来越多地过着跨国生活，影响着在其居住地和其家乡社区塑造当地经济的机构。这方面的一个例子是发展中国家的葬礼制度。随着来自发展中国家的移民在本国的葬礼组织、融资和实践中发挥重要作用，葬礼正成为多地点活动。因此，葬礼带来了跨国界的资金、商品和人员流动，最终影响到世界各地的不同经济体。本文使用多地点研究设计来跟踪加纳阿散蒂地区一个村庄举行的葬礼的相关流程。同时收集了参与葬礼的四个地点的详细数据，并使用乘数分析来跟踪不同地点和行业的葬礼支出。分析表明，丧葬支出支持加纳和全球各地的各种经济部门，加强了葬礼作为(部分)经济事件的性质，应将其纳入对汇款和移民的经济分析。葬礼惯例以不同的方式进行修改，以适应跨国因素。与此同时，葬礼继续作为重申联系和归属感的场合，即使在跨国背景下也是如此；它们为农村和城市的家园社区提供了一种保持移民对葬礼感兴趣的方式。
Migrants are increasingly leading transnational lives, impacting the institutions that shape local economies both in their place of residence and in their home communities. One example of this is the institution of funerals in developing countries. Funerals are becoming multi-sited events as migrants from developing countries play important roles in the organization, financing and practice of funeral ceremonies in their home countries. Funerals thus give rise to flows of money, goods and people across national borders, ultimately affecting different economies around the world. This article uses a multi-sited research design to follow the flows associated with a funeral held in a village in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Detailed data were collected simultaneously in four locations involved in the funeral, and a multiplier analysis was used to trace funeral spending in different locations and sectors. The analysis shows that funeral spending supports various economic sectors in Ghana and across the globe, reinforcing the nature of funerals as (partly) economic events, which should be included in economic analyses of remittances and migration. Funeral practices are modified in various ways to accommodate transnational elements. At the same time, funerals continue to act, even in a transnational context, as occasions for reaffirming ties and a sense of belonging; they form a way for home communities, both rural and urban, to keep migrants interested in them.