Remittances, Transnational Parenting, and the Children Left Behind: Economic and Psychological Implications
This paper looks at the changes in parent-child relations in families divided by migration. Recent academic and policy papers underline the potential benefits of migrant remittances but dismiss the costs of prolonged family separation and its psychological impact on the children left behind. We paint a more complex picture by taking into account the experiences of the children and the long-term impact of early separation from their primary caregivers. Building on ethnographic fieldwork, in-depth interviews, surveys, and clinical cases, this paper analyzes the interaction between the social meaning of remittances, family migration trajectories, and possible consequences of child-parent separations. The conclusion is that remittances often do not compensate for parental absence.