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Globalization of Remittances in India: Towards a Sociological Perspective

  • Chapter
Migrant Remittances in South Asia

Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

Abstract

As the scale of migration increases, the corresponding growth in remit- tances is gaining widespread attention (IFAD, 2007, p. 2). The globalization of migration has particularly put the phenomenon of remittances at the centre of social science research. The dominant focus of this research is on the economic dimension. Money is at the core of remittances, making it fundamentally an economic fact. It documents the inflow of remittances at an aggregate level and examines its implications at the macro level. In 2010, with an approximately 12.1 per cent increase in the remittance flows to developing countries despite the economic crisis, the remittance experi- ence goes beyond economic and money per se. Indeed, in recent years there has been exploratory work on the social dimension of remittances, bring- ing the role of the local, defined in various ways, to the centre of research on remittances. As the understanding of the non-economic dimension of remittances and changing nature of the local becomes ever more crucial, it compels a more detailed inquiry into the interrelationship between global remittances and economic, social, and cultural processes at the local level. Taking India as a case study for both its cultural diversity and topping the list of remittance-receiving countries in 2012 with $69 billion,1 this chapter is just such an enquiry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University, USA

    Vani S. Kulkami (postdoctoral research fellow in Sociology)

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  1. Vani S. Kulkami
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  1. Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, Singapore

    Md Mizanur Rahman (Senior Research Fellow) & Tan Tai Yong (Professor Tan, a historian) (Senior Research Fellow) &  (Professor Tan, a historian)

  2. American University in Cairo, Egypt

    A K M Ahsan Ullah (Associate Director) (Associate Director)

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© 2014 Vani S. Kulkarni

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Kulkami, V.S. (2014). Globalization of Remittances in India: Towards a Sociological Perspective. In: Rahman, M.M., Yong, T.T., Ullah, A.K.M.A. (eds) Migrant Remittances in South Asia. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137350800_9

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