The theory and practice of the dialectical relationship between development and migration

Abstract

This paper analyzes the theoretical and practical aspects that underlie the relationship between development and international migration by examining the stance of labor-sending underdeveloped countries from the perspective of a political economy of development. Said perspective offers a theoretical alternative to the unidirectional formulation of the migration-development nexus adopted by the major international organizations, which is based on the assumption that migrants and their resources represent the agency and instruments needed for development. We intend to examine migrants’ actual role in the accumulation and regional integration processes led by the labor-receiving developed countries, and look at how they have come to support the precarious socioeconomic stability of their countries of origin. We use the case of Mexico, the world’s leading migrant-exporter and remittance-receiver, as an empirical referent for our analysis.