Doctoral Dissertation Research: Forced Migration and Economic Development

发展项目和环境变化导致的被迫移徙日益成为世界许多地区社会动荡的根源。经济发展与水电大坝、高速公路、矿山和城市基础设施的扩张息息相关，据估计，每年有1500万人被迫背井离乡，为这种增长让路。过去的研究表明，因发展项目而被迫永久流离失所的移徙者很少能够重新获得生计，有可能因无地、失业、粮食不安全和失去社会网络而陷入贫困。此外，一些学者呼吁对围绕被迫移徙的社会过程有更多的理论知识。通过了解被迫迁移者的决策过程，以及与流离失所家庭重建生计能力相关的因素，我们将更好地准备应对未来大坝、大型基础设施项目和环境变化带来的流离失所问题。本论文将研究由于贝罗蒙特大坝而导致的强迫移民的案例，该大坝目前正在巴西亚马逊地区建设中。通过借鉴有关亚马逊地区发展的社会影响的文献、关于移民的人口统计学研究以及关于发展导致的流离失所的社会学和人类学工作，本研究旨在扩大对大坝导致的被迫移民的过程和社会经济结果的理解。该项目的一个独特优势在于它利用了前瞻性数据，这使得可以在迁移过程展开时跟踪迁移过程，而不是依赖于回顾性数据。她使用迁移前和迁移后的家庭调查和半结构化访谈数据来回答以下问题：(1)家庭如何驾驭被迫迁移的过程，并根据新的土地和资源调整生计策略？(2)被迫迁移后家庭收入、资产和主观幸福感的变化与哪些因素相关？(3)贝罗蒙特的特点是什么？美国的农村重新安置计划可能减轻通常与强迫迁移相关的负面社会经济影响？这个项目将对移徙和发展领域作出贡献，重点关注被迫移徙者在流离失所之前和之后的观察。此外，该项目还为利益相关者提供了可用于改进安置政策的见解。

Forced migration due to development projects and environmental change is a growing source of social upheaval in much of the world. Economic development is tied to the expansion of hydroelectric dams, highways, mines, and urban infrastructure, and an estimated 15 million people per year are forced from their homes to make way for such growth. Past research indicates that forced migrants displaced permanently by development projects are rarely able to regain their livelihoods, risking impoverishment due to landlessness, joblessness, food insecurity, and the loss of social networks. In addition, a number of scholars have called for a greater theoretical knowledge of the social processes surrounding forced migration. By understanding the decision-making process among those forced to migrate as well as the factors associated with the ability for displaced families to rebuild livelihoods, we will be better prepared to address displacement from future dams, large-scale infrastructure projects, and environmental change. This dissertation will study the case of forced migration due to the Belo Monte Dam, which is currently under construction in the Brazilian Amazon. By drawing from literature on the social impacts of development in the Amazon, demographic research on migration, and sociological and anthropological work on development-induced displacement, this research seeks to expand understandings of both the process and socioeconomic outcomes of dam-induced forced migration. A unique strength of this project is that it draws on prospective data, which enables following the migration process as it unfolds rather than relying on retrospective accounts. She uses pre- and post-displacement household survey and semi-structured interview data to answer the following questions: (1) How do households navigate the process of forced migration and adapt livelihood strategies to their new land and resources? (2) What factors are associated with changes in household-level income, assets, and subjective well-being after forced migration? and (3) What characteristics of Belo Monte?s rural resettlement program might mitigate the negative socioeconomic impacts often associated with forced migration?This project will contribute to the field of migration and development by focusing on both pre- and post-displacement observations of forced migrants. In addition, this project offers insights that can be used by stakeholders to improve resettlement policies.