1. Cohen, Jeffrey H. “Migration, Remittances, and Household Strategies.” Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 40, 2011, pp. 103–114., www.jstor.org/stable/41287722.

Cohen writes this article describing the economic and cultural importance of remittances to Native communities. He states, with graphical evidence, that they are critical to the social and cultural well-being of migrants and non-migrants of small rural communities and nations. But remittances must be understood for their benefits as well as their costs. They are of fundamental importance to many migrant-sending households as they cope with poor local economies, limited job markets, and low wages. The pull of opportunity in destination countries, whether the United States, Western Europe, or elsewhere, tends to relieve some of the pressures on these nations to improve labor practices and wages and to develop local economies. Yet success can drive an increase in overall migration rates that leaves natives in an increasingly dependent position and can challenge migrants who cannot meet their own or others’ expectations. Because remittances do not flow equally, there is also a risk of increased inequality locally as households with migrants differentiate themselves from those without.

Remittances are critical in unanticipated ways to local economies as the members of sending households improve their households; spend on education, health care, and rituals; engage in local politics; and invest in small businesses. This article does a great job at explaining the plain face advantages of remittances and their perceived importance in a global economic world for nations that are financially struggling. It can be used to draw parallels with Caribbean communities that have a large diasporic community. It also explains the need for the diaspora to be in constant communication with their native population/family as remittances are an essential part of migrant life.

 

2. Dunn, Hopeton. “Caribbean Telecommunications Policy: Fashioned by Debt, Dependency and Under-Development.” Caribbean Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 2, 1994, pp. 33–56., www.jstor.org/stable/40653887.

This article looks at select Caribbean communication hubs, specifically Jamaica and Trinidad. It discusses the policies of the western lending agencies, the IMF and the World Bank, that have imposed loan agreements tied to programs of divestment and privatization. In Caribbean telecommunications, these policies have favored existing foreign interests, particularly Cable and Wireless with its long record of involvement in the region. The function which was historically done by Britain in the era of colonialism is regarded in their analysis as being taken over in the modern period by these western lending agencies on behalf of private capital. Without a regionally-based common strategy for the incorporation of telecommunications in Caribbean development planning, such initiatives could further entangle the region in a wider net of dependency.

The article is extremely broadening in terms of the behind-the scenes look at the development of telecommunications in the Caribbean and the power it has on the economy on a larger scale. It ties in global interest of foreign investments with the developing policy and government of the Caribbean showing legal exploitation with the consent of the free market. This can be used in my research on telecommunications in providing a little background for the companies that are providing the resources to the diaspora to communicate back home.

 

3. Duany, Jorge. “Beyond the Safety Valve: Recent Trends in Caribbean Migration.” Social and Economic Studies, vol. 43, no. 1, 1994, pp. 95–122., www.jstor.org/stable/27865943.

Jorge explores the reasons people migrate to countries with more opportunities of employment, such as Britain, Canada, and USA, as well as the adverse effects it has on their native Caribbean country and population. He claims that if migration was an effective safety valve, it should be encouraged and maintained as a development strategy in the Caribbean. However, his paper has challenged that assumption. More than two centuries of external migration have not solved the socioeconomic problems of the region, but have aggravated them. Second, the current trend toward migration to the core countries of the capitalist world economy reinforces the dependent position of the Caribbean on those countries. Third, the high proportion of young, skilled, and educated migrants represents a substantial loss of human capital for Caribbean societies. Although many Caribbean people value migration as a way to improve their standards of living, migration is not a cure-all for the region’s problems. More enlightened public policies will curb international migration by promoting economic growth together with a more equitable distribution of resources among the people of the region.

In exploring how the diasporic communities got to where they are and their expanding business opportunities it’s easy to see the short-term benefits of migration. However this article will shed perspective on how there is always a negative impact on the other end.

 

4. Itzigsohn, Jose. “Migrant Remittances, Labor Markets, and Household Strategies: A Comparative Analysis of Low-Income Household Strategies in the Caribbean Basin.” Social Forces, vol. 74, no. 2, 1995, pp. 633–655., www.jstor.org/stable/2580495.

Itzigsohn’s article conducts a numerical analysis of Caribbean transnationalism. The main implication of the article’s findings is that an increasing number of households, willingly or reluctantly, are going to send members abroad so that the latter can send back remittances. It cites that the most likely destination has been, and will continue to be, the USA. As large Caribbean migrant communities grow in this country, they provide social networks that facilitate a continuing flow of migrants, in spite of the increasingly hostile attitude of large segments of the USA. public. The direction adopted by the countries of the region was a restructuring of their economies with a new emphasis on export-oriented activities, the bulk of them directed toward the USA. The Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) played an important role in easing the entry of Caribbean exports into American markets. This new mode of entry into the world economy may, in some cases, alleviate the population burden on the Caribbean countries. It does not, however, increase employment or income.

A common trend I am noticing in this article and the others is that it is in the interest of the Caribbean countries, as well as the USA – the main recipient of the migration flows – to make a joint effort to find better means of economic integration and to find a development strategy based on the development of the human capital of the region. This article can assist me in deeper understanding of the remittance and communicative structure of the Caribbean diaspora intertwined with social and financial obligations of migrants.

 

5. Serbin, Andrés. “Transnational Relations and Regionalism in the Caribbean.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 533, 1994, pp. 139–150., www.jstor.org/stable/1048580.

This article focuses on the concept of regionalism in the Caribbean basin. Not only do these collection of nations rely on government policies of trade liberalization and economic cooperation, it has incorporated aspects of political cooperation and social and cultural integration as well. The development of this regional view would seem at first glance to challenge the state-centered approach and the very role of the state and governments in the process of regionalism. The reality, however, is that non-governmental activities and alternative projects are multiplying as options for state strategies. Governments continue to play important roles both in initiating the new social, religious, or cultural movements as a result of the changes in attitude of the private sector and the academic networks.

Given the situation described in this article, I think that a new regional view is emerging that is more complex and broader in scope than many expected. A new fabric of regional transnational relations is created that transcends the traditional fragmentation that has historically characterized the Caribbean. This allows me to understand further the need for tele-communicative and technological catching up that migrants of any Caribbean community have to take part in thus emphasizing the need on being connected.