Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

12-2018

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between social remittances andland-use change in the context of South–South migration. Focusingon the cyclical movement of Filipino oil palm workers between thePhilippine province of Palawan and the Malaysian State of Sabah, weshow how migrants transmit social remittances, such as ideas of pros-perity associated with oil palm development and knowledge of pro-duction practices and land impacts of oil palm plantations. Thesesocial remittances affect farmers’ decisions to engage in oil palmdevelopment within the migrants’ home province, possibly transform-ing subsistence agricultural systems into large-scale, monocrop planta-tions. We argue that such land development outcomes are anunderstudied aspect of how migration affects developing countries,especially in the context of South–South migration. Research findingsalso suggest how migrants’ social remittances are transmitted, diffused,and utilized at broader social and political units, beyond returnmigrants’ households and immediate communities in Palawan. Deci-sion outcomes, however, are variable, with households and communi-ties either engaging in or opposing oil palm development, dependingon how social remittances are interpreted.

Discipline

Sociology

Research Areas

Sociology

Publication

International Migration Review

Volume

48

Issue

1

First Page

216

Last Page

242

ISSN

0197-9183

Identifier

10.1111/imre.12075

Publisher

SAGE Publications (UK and US)

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1111/imre.12075

Included in

Sociology Commons

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