Migrants have likely always sent money back to their home countries, and currently in many developing countries remittances comprise the second largest source of financial inflow. But remittance behaviour is also common within Europe. What is the motivation behind this? All studies on remittances to home countries have thus far focused on first-generation migrants. The main driving forces behind these remittances have therefore been thoroughly analysed. But in their recent research Tineke Fokkema, Eralba Cela and Elena Ambrosetti focused on second-generation migrants.
A question that is not easy to answer
The main question they pose is: Is the remittance behaviour of the second generation driven more by altruism or by self-interest? Of course, answers to this question are not always clear-cut. The children of immigrants grow up in a cultural setting in which various ideas, norms and practices are influenced by many factors. Some of these influences come from the ancestral country, and many from the country of settlement. Therefore, remitting is usually driven not by only one factor, but rather a mixture of motivations.
Nevertheless, the authors attempted to examine this question through a comparative approach using quantitative data. They used survey data from the “Integration of the European Second Generation” (TIES) project, which investigated the behaviour of the children of immigrants from Turkey, Morocco and former Yugoslavia, residing in several cities across Europe.
From the heart or from the ego?
Based on the results of research on first-generation migrants, the authors hypothesised that the theoretical reasoning and related expected effects of altruism and pure self-interest might hold true for the second generation as well. Thus, there are mainly two types of motives that seem to be crucial for the remittance behaviour of second-generation migrants: The first is pure altruism – sending money because of an emotional attachment, and without exchange motivations. This is mere generosity without any kind of commitment or obligation. The second is that the higher likelihood of sending money home is not necessarily driven purely by emotional and altruistic feelings, but also out of self-interest. Such motivations include improving one’s chances of receiving an inheritance, strengthening social ties at home and staying informed and in touch with the ancestral country. Remitting is also a good way to make a possible permanent return to the ancestral country easier. Hence, “investing in the home country” can equally be a motivated by altruism and by self-interest.
Several determinants
Which factors can affect the likelihood of sending money home? The authors used a rich set of control variables and several methods. According to their results, in some models religiosity, speaking the parents’ native language in the family setting and having a first-generation partner are important factors increasing the likelihood that an individual will send money back to the home country. More emotional bonds that play a role include frequent visits to the ancestral country and watching its television programming.
Distance also plays a role. The greater the distance, the more likely second-generation migrants are to send remittances. Furthermore, the likelihood increases with age. This might be due to individuals attaining higher socioeconomic status in older age, but additionally because their parents are also getting older. This likely leads to increased feelings of responsibility for the care of their older parents. Of course, there is also a link between remittances and the specific intention to migrate back to the ancestral country in the future.
Several results
As mentioned above, the interpretation of the driving forces behind the sending of remittances is not straightforward. Therefore, a large number of variables were considered. Still, the attitude towards the ancestral country is driven by a large number of factors, many of which are difficult to measure. Due to the complex nature of the topic, the authors recognise that remittances are the result of many additional factors. The remittance behaviour of second-generation migrants is a new and previously unexplored topic in the European context. Therefore, this study is only a first step, and further research is needed. Future efforts to develop theoretically-driven remittance models for the second generation are highly recommended.
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This Population Digest has been published with financial support from the Progress Programme of the European Union in the framework of the project “Supporting a Partnership for Enhancing Europe’s Capacity to Tackle Demographic and Societal Change”.