Effects of Translocal Livelihoods on Rural Change

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss different dimensions of the effect of translocal livelihoods on rural structural change. Based on a literature review, the chapter is roughly structured according to the three dimensions of sustainability. Section 6.1 (“Economic Dimension”) focuses first on the effects of remittances and their use, second on the division of labor as well as the distribution of workforce and workload and third on innovation and the knowledge flow in translocal contexts. Section 6.2 (“Ecological Dimension”) centers around the reciprocal relationship between translocality and changing the natural environment. Here, we argue for conceptually combining the socio-ecological systems approach with the concept of translocality (“translocal socio-ecological systems”), which would enable researchers not only to consider the effects of environmental change on migration (and translocalization) but also to analyze the feedback effects of translocality on the environment. Section 6.3 (“Social Dimension”) primarily spotlights education, gender and health, and on the questions, (1) to what degree these central social aspects are connected to migration and the translocality of livelihoods, and (2) whether we can discern a shift in values in these areas due to translocality. In sum, this chapter highlights how the economic, ecological and social dynamics of (rural) change are deeply interwoven in the context of translocal livelihoods.