Debt-financed migration agency and the productivity of debt

Nicolas Lainez
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Nicolas Lainez: CESSMA UMRD 245 - Centre d'études en sciences sociales sur les mondes africains, américains et asiatiques - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Inalco - Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales - UPCité - Université Paris Cité

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Abstract: Debt-financed migration has been a subject of academic interest for the past two decades. This phenomenon can be divided into two main mechanisms: salary deductions and upfront payments. In salary deductions, facilitators provide migrants with upfront funds that are later deducted from their salaries by their employers. In upfront payments, migrants borrow and mortgage assets to obtain capital to cover migration-related expenses upfront or upon arrival. These expenses are then repaid through remittances. Most of the existing literature on debt-financed migration has taken an economic perspective that emphasizes the risks of debt bondage in salary deductions and vulnerability in upfront payments. Studies critically examine the role of states, brokers, and markets in impacting migrants' well-being and labor and human rights. However, considering the increasing intensity of migration flows and the widespread use of debt as a funding mechanism, evaluating the relevance of the conventional economic framework is essential. I argue this framework can be supplemented with a richer and more empirical understanding of agency that shows how migrants can effectively use debt for empowerment and protection against debt bondage and vulnerability. To support this argument, I delineate an economic anthropology framework badgeing migrants' agentic use of debt to their advantage.

Keywords: CHINE; THAILANDE; VIET NAM; CAMBODGE; INDE; INDONESIE; MALAISIE; BANGLADESH; COREE DU SUD; TAIWAN; JAPON; EUROPE; GUATEMALA; MEXIQUE; MEXICO; EQUATEUR (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Published in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2024, [Early access], en ligne [20 p.]. ⟨10.1080/1369183x.2024.2407049⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04716841

DOI: 10.1080/1369183x.2024.2407049

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