Dynamics of global asymmetries: how migrant remittances (re-)shape North–South relations

This article analyses North–South relations through the lens of migrant remittances. Scrutinising remittances, this article argues that remittances need to be understood as a moral claim on the migrant’s propensity to remit. Migrants and their remittance-receiving families are bound together in translocal moral economies. These relations are described as a form of negotiated dependency. Due to the logic of remittances, net remittance-receiving economies within the Global South increasingly merge with the Global North. However, this process is conflict-ridden and (re)shapes and (re)produces global asymmetries, with remittances contributing to the individualisation of development. This emerging scenario is characterised by a fundamental micro–macro dilemma: On the micro level, migrants provide for the well-being of their relatives. On the macro level, migrant remittances increase in ‘value’ as currency hierarchies are deepened. In this scenario, protectionist labour market policies that are intended to reduce levels of migration within the Global North are likely to incentivise migration and thus reproduce the asymmetrical nature of North–South relations.