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)
Citation
MONTEFRIO, Marvin Joseph F., ORTIGA, Yasmin Y., & JOSOL, Ma. Rose Cristy B..(2018). Inducing development: Social remittances and the expansion of oil palm in the Philippines. International Migration Review, 48(1), 216-242.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2747
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1111/imre.12075