Welfare and Mobility: Migrants’ Experiences of Social Welfare Protection in Transnational and Translocal Spaces

Abstract

As migrants throughout the world make important contributions to their families’ social welfare, migration often implies changes in the ways in which individual’s and families’ needs for economic and social-welfare protection are met. This book contributes to the existing literature on transnational mobility and social protection by bringing in empirical evidence from across the globe which illustrates the multitude of mechanisms in which welfare concerns shape individual and family decisions about mobility and vice versa. By focusing on individuals, households and families rather than on nation states, the book’s contributors distance themselves from the macro and nation-state level of analysis in the field of migration and welfare research. Despite the emphasis on migrants’ subjective rationalities, the book’s chapters often highlight the political nature of many dilemmas faced by migrants and their families and expose national-welfare systems’ inherent sedentary bias. This book is designed for a broad range of audiences, from established scholars and policy-makers to graduate students of Sociology, Political Science, Anthropology and Human Geography who are interested in transnational mobility and social protection. We hope that the readers will find the contributions to this book insightful and valuable for their understanding of migrants’ experiences of social-welfare protection in a globalised world.