Doctoral Dissertation Research From Migrant Social Capital to Community Development: A Relational Account of Migration, Remittance, and Inequality

Paul J. DiMaggio, Sara R. Curran， Filiz garip博士论文改进基金博士论文研究：从移民社会资本到社区发展：移民、汇款和不平等的关系账户本项目探讨移民网络如何影响移民、汇款和发展模式。虽然移民文献中大量的经验证据表明，移民网络中的信息积累如何促进移民过程，但这些动态对汇款模式和原籍社区发展结果的影响仍不确定。本研究的目的是通过展示如何解决文献中的这一空白，并理解将两个不同的移民研究（即移民网络和社区发展）联系起来的因果机制：(1)移民网络的结构和移民社会资本的分布影响移民和汇款模式；(2)移民和汇款模式影响原籍社区资源的水平和分布；(3)随着时间的推移，累积的移民和汇款模式会为原籍社区带来发展成果。为了实现这一目标，研究者提出了一种多方法方法，包括对泰国独特数据的定量分析和迁移过程的计算模型。首先，通过分析北卡罗莱纳大学和玛希隆大学收集的Nang Rong调查的多层次、纵向、地理参考数据，将移民和汇款模式与移民网络联系起来。本研究网站提供了来自51个原籍村的近5万人和4个主要目的地的1.2万多名移民的独特信息来源，并且还位于泰国经济和社会急剧增长的大背景下，从农村地区向城市目的地的移民构成了农村生计日益重要的组成部分。其次，将开发基于代理的计算模型，以了解将移民网络与汇款和发展成果联系起来的机制。在这些模型中，宏观层面的移徙、汇款和发展模式将被概念化为来自移徙网络中的个人相互作用。通过改变这些网络的结构和关系特征，研究者将观察由此产生的迁移、汇款和发展模式的差异，从而确定网络中产生宏观结果差异的微观机制。提出的多方法分析将有助于解决几个关键的理论、实证和方法问题。这项研究不仅将移徙模式或移徙者汇款方面的发展概念化，而且还将移徙网络方面的发展概念化，从而有助于发展理论。这种办法将有助于理清造成家庭间资源分配不平等和村庄间发展水平不平等的机制。在方法上，这项研究将首次使用基于主体的模型和模拟来研究移民、汇款和发展模式。从经验上讲，它将对泰国的情况进行广泛的分析。总体而言，该项目将为世界上许多地区提供政策见解，在这些地区，农村向城市的移民构成了最大的人口挑战。该项目的成果将广泛传播给包括学者和决策者在内的一些受众，以增进科学理解并为决策提供信息。

Paul J. DiMaggio, Sara R. Curran, Filiz GaripDoctoral Dissertation Improvement GrantDoctoral Dissertation Research: From Migrant Social Capital to Community Development: A Relational Account of Migration, Remittances and InequalityThis project explores how migrant networks influence migration, remittance and development patterns. While abundant empirical evidence in the migration literature demonstrates how the accumulation of information within migrant networks facilitates the migration process, the consequences of these dynamics for remittance patterns and development outcomes in origin communities remain indeterminate. The objective of this study is to address this gap in the literature and understand the causal mechanisms that link two disparate strands of migration research, namely, migrant networks and community development, by demonstrating how: (1) the structure of migrant networks and the distribution of migrant social capital affect migration and remittance patterns, (2) migration and remittance patterns influence the level and distribution of resources in origin communities, and, (3) cumulative migration and remittance patterns over time generate development outcomes for origin communities. To meet this objective, the investigator proposes a multi-method approach involving quantitative analyses of unique data from Thailand and computational models of the migration process. First, migration and remittance patterns will be linked to migrant networks by analyzing multi-level, longitudinal, geo-referenced data from the Nang Rong surveys collected by University of North Carolina and Mahidol University. This study site offers a unique source of information from nearly 50,000 individuals in 51 origin villages and more than 12,000 migrants in 4 major destinations, and is also situated in a larger context of dramatic economic and social growth in Thailand, where migration out of rural areas to urban destinations forms an increasingly vital component of rural livelihoods. Second, agent-based computational models will be developed to understand the mechanisms connecting migrant networks to remittance and development outcomes. In these models, macro-level migration, remittance and development patterns will be conceptualized as emerging from individual interactions in migrant networks. By varying the structural and relational characteristics of these networks, the investigator will observe the resulting differences in migration, remittance and development patterns, and hence identify the micro-mechanisms within networks that generate differentials in macro-level outcomes. The proposed multi-method analysis will help address several key theoretical, empirical and methodological issues. The study will contribute to development theory by conceptualizing development not only in relation to migration patterns or migrant remittances but also to migrant networks. This approach will help disentangle the mechanisms that generate inequalities in the distribution of resources among households, and in the development levels among villages. Methodologically, this study will be the first to use agent-based models and simulations to study migration, remittance and development patterns. Empirically, it will provide an extensive analysis of the Thai case. Overall, this project will generate policy insights for many regions of the world, where rural to urban migration forms the greatest demographic challenge. Results from this project will be disseminated broadly to several audiences, including academics and policy makers in order to enhance scientific understanding and to inform policy decisions.