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

博士论文改进：社会主义国家的汇款和非正规经济

• 批准号: 0117931
• 负责人: William A Clark
• 金额: $ 1万
• 依托单位: University of California-Los Angeles
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-08-15 至 2003-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0117931&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Remittances; Informal

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.

随着全球各地从一个国家到另一个国家的移民数量增加，全球经济交易的一个同样重要的方面是，移民的资金汇给了留守的人。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以市场为基础的经济的国家。这一博士论文研究项目将检验这样一种假设，即海外亲属寄给古巴人的汇款在古巴发挥了积极作用，使他们的收款人能够保持可接受的基本生活水平，从而使他们能够继续参与相对较低的专业职业。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，非正规经济的参与度有所增加。在这个部门赚更多钱的机会吸引工人离开他们训练有素的职业，在非正规经济中工作。汇款是否发挥了重要的反补贴作用？以前的研究没有提供关于汇款可能如何影响非正规经济的动机和实际参与的数据。该项目将结合对300个家庭的定量调查，然后对15个家庭进行深入的个人访谈和家庭预算。这些数据将被用来测试收到稳定而大量的汇款与就业类型之间的联系。这项研究将提供关于非正式活动的可能性的新的见解和信息，以吸引专业人员离开他们的职业，并在古巴社会和整个社会主义过渡社会降低人力资本的使用。虽然其他研究认为，增加对非正规经济的参与不利于从社会主义向混合市场经济的转变过程，但这项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，并为未来在这个大多数美国研究人员无法访问的国家进行研究提供便利。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研究事业。