Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Remittances and the Informal Economy in a Socialist Nation

随着地球仪上从一个国家向另一个国家移徙的人数增加，全球经济交易的一个同样重要的方面已成为移居国外者向留在国内者汇款。 这在较贫穷的国家尤其如此，包括那些国营经济表现不如其他国家市场经济的国家。 本博士论文研究项目将探讨这样一种假设，即海外亲属向古巴人汇款在古巴发挥积极作用，使收款人能够维持可接受的基本生活水平，从而使他们能够继续参与相对低收入的专业职业。 对非正规经济兴起的研究表明，在从社会主义经济向市场经济过渡期间，参与非正规经济的人数有所增加。 在这一部门赚取更多收入的机会吸引工人离开他们受过训练的专业，到非正规经济部门工作。 汇款是否发挥重要的抵消作用？ 以前的研究没有提供关于汇款如何影响对非正规经济的动机和实际参与的数据。 该项目将联合收割机结合对300户家庭的定量调查，然后对15户家庭进行密集深入的个人访谈和家庭预算。 这些数据将用于检验收到稳定和大量汇款与就业类型之间的联系，研究将提供新的见解和信息，说明非正规活动有可能吸引专业人员离开其职业，降低古巴社会和整个过渡社会主义社会对人力资本的利用。 其他研究认为，更多地参与非正规经济不利于从社会主义经济向混合市场经济的转型，而本研究将阐明是什么促使个人参与或退出非正规经济，以及个人将其主要职业重点放在哪里。 这项研究还将扩大与古巴的学术联系，并促进未来在一个大多数美国研究人员以前无法进入的国家进行研究。 作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立的研究生涯。

As the volume of migration of people from one nation to another has increased around the globe, an equally significant facet of global economic transactions has become the remittance of funds from those who have emigrated to those who have been left behind. This is especially true in poorer nations, including those states whose state-run economies have not performed as well as market-based economies in other nations. This doctoral dissertation research project will examine the hypothesis that remittances sent to Cubans from relatives abroad play the positive role in Cuba of allowing their recipients to maintain an acceptable basic standard of living, thereby enabling them to continue to maintain their participation in relatively low-paying professional occupations. Studies of the rise of the informal economy have suggested that participation in the informal economy has increased during the time of transition from socialist to market economies. The opportunity to earn more money in this sector attracts workers to leave their trained profession to work in the informal economy. Do remittances play an important countervailing role? No previous studies have provided data regarding the ways that remittances may affect the motivation and actual participation in the informal economy. The project will combine a quantitative survey of 300 households followed by intensive in-depth personal interviews and household budgets for 15 households. The data will be used to test the links between the receipt of a steady and significant flow of remittances and type of employment.The research will provide new insights and information regarding the potential for informal activities to draw away professionals from their occupations and lower the use of human capital in Cuban society and transitional socialist societies in general. Whereas other studies have argued that increased participation in the informal economy has been detrimental to the process of transformation from a socialist to a mixed market economy, this study will shed light on what motivates individuals to engage in or withdraw from the informal economy and where individuals place their primary occupational emphasis. The research also will broaden scholarly contacts with Cuba and facilitate future research in a nation that previously has been inaccessible for most U.S. researchers. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.