Informality, Social Citizenship, and Wellbeing among Migrant Workers in Costa Rica in the Context of COVID-19

Mathieu J. P. Poirier, Douglas Barraza, C. Susana Caxaj, Ana María Martínez, Julie Hard and Felipe Montoya
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Mathieu J. P. Poirier: School of Global Health, Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
Douglas Barraza: Health Section, Central American Institute for Studies on Toxic Substances, Universidad Nacional, Heredia 41101, Costa Rica
C. Susana Caxaj: School of Nursing, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
Ana María Martínez: York International & Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
Julie Hard: Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
Felipe Montoya: Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: Costa Rica is home to 557,000 migrants, whose disproportionate exposure to precarious, dangerous, and informal work has resulted in persistent inequities in health and wellbeing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a novel multimodal grounded approach synthesizing documentary film, experiential education, and academic research to explore socioecological wellbeing among Nicaraguan migrant workers in Costa Rica. Participants pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as exacerbating the underlying conditions of vulnerability, such as precarity and informality, dangerous working conditions, social and systemic discrimination, and additional burdens faced by women. However, the narrative that emerged most consistently in shaping migrants’ experience of marginalization were challenges in obtaining documentation—both in the form of legal residency and health insurance coverage. Our results demonstrate that, in spite of Costa Rica’s acclaimed social welfare policies, migrant workers continue to face exclusion due to administrative, social, and financial barriers. These findings paint a rich picture of how multiple intersections of precarious, informal, and dangerous working conditions; social and systemic discrimination; gendered occupational challenges; and access to legal residency and health insurance coverage combine to prevent the full achievement of a shared minimum standard of social and economic security for migrant workers in Costa Rica.

Keywords: migrant health; social determinants of health; Costa Rica; Nicaragua; COVID-19; grounded theory; informal work; welfare states; social citizenship; documentation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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