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Towards an Actor-Centred Approach to Studying Overseas Remittances, Rural Development, and Livelihoods: An Ethnographic Case Study in Guangdong Province, South China

Zhen, Ruishi (2024) COSM40 20241
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
Through the lens of a Cantonese remittance village, the thesis aims to critically examine rural livelihood dynamics reconfigured through overseas emigration and remittances, and their relationships with agrarian land, labour, and production in the historical sending region of overseas Chinese (qiaoxiang). Drawing on the concept of ‘remittance village’ coined by Ramesh Sunam, the thesis emphasises diaspora-homeland ties as a key driver of contemporary socioeconomic development in many parts of qiaoxiang, which are transforming rural economic, political, and social textures. In contrast to the structural, top down methodological approach dominating the existing remittance scholarship both in China and globally, the thesis develops an... (More)
Through the lens of a Cantonese remittance village, the thesis aims to critically examine rural livelihood dynamics reconfigured through overseas emigration and remittances, and their relationships with agrarian land, labour, and production in the historical sending region of overseas Chinese (qiaoxiang). Drawing on the concept of ‘remittance village’ coined by Ramesh Sunam, the thesis emphasises diaspora-homeland ties as a key driver of contemporary socioeconomic development in many parts of qiaoxiang, which are transforming rural economic, political, and social textures. In contrast to the structural, top down methodological approach dominating the existing remittance scholarship both in China and globally, the thesis develops an actor-centred livelihoods framework to guide fieldwork data collection and analysis and to shed light on the conflictual and relational aspects of overseas remittances. Based on two-month in-depth fieldwork in rural qiaoxiang, the thesis finds that overseas remittances play an important role in strengthening the village collective economy and driving agricultural transition from subsistence grain crop to commercial cash crop cultivation. However, overseas remittances contribute to divergent livelihood pathways among rural inhabitants, facilitating asset accumulation and livelihood improvement for rural elites, while exacerbating livelihood precarity and economic insecurity for marginal actors, thereby reproducing and reinforcing local socioeconomic stratification. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Zhen, Ruishi
supervisor
organization
course
COSM40 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
overseas Chinese remittances, rural development, livelihoods approach, actor-centred perspective, fieldwork, inequality
language
English
id
9164650
date added to LUP
2024-06-17 13:50:43
date last changed
2024-06-17 13:50:43
@misc{9164650,
  abstract     = {{Through the lens of a Cantonese remittance village, the thesis aims to critically examine rural livelihood dynamics reconfigured through overseas emigration and remittances, and their relationships with agrarian land, labour, and production in the historical sending region of overseas Chinese (qiaoxiang). Drawing on the concept of ‘remittance village’ coined by Ramesh Sunam, the thesis emphasises diaspora-homeland ties as a key driver of contemporary socioeconomic development in many parts of qiaoxiang, which are transforming rural economic, political, and social textures. In contrast to the structural, top down methodological approach dominating the existing remittance scholarship both in China and globally, the thesis develops an actor-centred livelihoods framework to guide fieldwork data collection and analysis and to shed light on the conflictual and relational aspects of overseas remittances. Based on two-month in-depth fieldwork in rural qiaoxiang, the thesis finds that overseas remittances play an important role in strengthening the village collective economy and driving agricultural transition from subsistence grain crop to commercial cash crop cultivation. However, overseas remittances contribute to divergent livelihood pathways among rural inhabitants, facilitating asset accumulation and livelihood improvement for rural elites, while exacerbating livelihood precarity and economic insecurity for marginal actors, thereby reproducing and reinforcing local socioeconomic stratification.}},
  author       = {{Zhen, Ruishi}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Towards an Actor-Centred Approach to Studying Overseas Remittances, Rural Development, and Livelihoods: An Ethnographic Case Study in Guangdong Province, South China}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}