Emigration, remittances and emerging family structure: findings from a household survey in eight selected villages in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Migration from India to the Gulf Countries has increased dramatically in recent years. Does it actually have an impact on the joint family structure? India has been known for prevailing type of joint/extended families. This paper aims to throw new evidences for introducing the concept of “federated family”. Using primary survey data collected from 328 rural emigrant households in eight villages from the district of Kushinagar in eastern Uttar Pradesh in India, this paper contributes to the debate of socio-economic development and impact of international remittances at migrants’ places of origin. It is the first study which addresses the concept of federated family in India. Federated family seems to be a joint family, where all its members stay under the same roof but use separate kitchens.

Transnational Migration and Typologies of Remittances between Punjab and The Netherlands

“…In the case of Nigeria, youth migrants send remittances for buying agricultural equipment, and paying for school in their households (Alleluyanatha and Treasure, 2021). Ali et al (2017) mentioned that available remittances increase consumption power and similarly ostentatious consumption expenditure increases. Contrary, Kayaoğlu (2017) underlines that remittances are spent not to improve agricultural productivity and rural employment rather to build non-productive infrastructure in Turkey.…”

Impact of International Remittances on Poverty in Bangladesh: Evidence from the Household Data

“…This situation, along with with other disadvantages, for example, the inability to take a decision and lack of financial autonomy impede women empowerment to a greater extent, although remittances exert a significant positive influence on economic ground. Likewise, Ali et al (2017) explored another sociological impact of remittances on 328 rural emigrant households in eight villages of Kushinagar district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh in India. The study concludes that other than larger economic gain, labour migration and remittances reshape the intra-household family structure and emigrant households' individual and community behaviour as well as redesign the caste systems, especially in case of performing assigned set of activities.…”