Migrant Remittances and Rights to Physical Integrity: A Cross-section Study of Latin America (1981-2014)

Carneiro, Cristiane; Figueroa, Ana Magdalena

doi:10.1590/1981-3821201900020004

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 34 publications

(41 reference statements)

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“…Through their influence on citizens' support for the use of violence in crime fighting, remittances may contribute to civil rights violations that stem from the use of coercion and repression by state and nonstate actors alike (Cruz 2016;Flores-Macías and Zarkin 2019;Muggah 2019;Pérez 2015). The microlevel results also speak to recent work showing that respect for human rights is negatively related to remittance inflows in developing countries (Bang et al 2019;Carneiro and Figueroa 2019).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Migrant Remittances and Violent Responses to Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean

García

Maydom

2021

Lat Am Polit Soc

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High levels of crime are a key driver of emigration from Latin America and the Caribbean. But can emigration change public opinion about how best to respond to crime? Focusing on the political economy of remittances—the money migrants send to their families and communities—this study argues that emigration can increase support for violent responses to crime. Migrants’ families often spend remittances on investment goods, which makes them more vulnerable to crime and more supportive of violence to protect themselves. An analysis of AmericasBarometer data finds that remittance recipients are more likely both to fear crime and to be victims of crime than nonrecipients. They are also more approving of vigilantism, more tolerant of police bending the law to apprehend criminals, and more supportive of deploying the military in crime fighting. These findings contribute to our knowledge of the consequences of international migration for political development in migrant-sending countries.

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