Table Of ContentThe Palgrave Macmillan
International Migration,
Development and Human
Wellbeing
Katie Wright
RethinkingInternationalDevelopmentseries
SeriesEditors:
Andy Sumner, Fellow of the Vulnerability and Poverty Research Team,
InstituteofDevelopmentStudies,UniversityofSussex,UK.
Ray Kiely, Professor of International Politics, Queen Mary University of
London,UK.
Palgrave Macmillan is delighted to announce a new series dedicated to
publishingcutting-edgetitlesthatfocusonthebroadareaof‘development’.
Thecoreaimsoftheseriesaretopresentcriticalworkthat:
– iscross-disciplinary;
– challengesorthodoxies;
– reconcilestheoreticaldepthwithempiricalresearch;
– exploresthefrontiersofdevelopmentstudiesintermsof‘development’in
bothNorthandSouthandglobalinterconnectedness;
– reflectsonclaimstoknowledgeandinterventioninotherpeople’slives.
Titlesinclude:
DavidAlexanderClark
ADAPTATION,POVERTYANDDEVELOPMENT
TheDynamicsofSubjectiveWell-Being
SimonFeenyandMatthewClarke
THEMILLENNIUMDEVELOPMENTGOALSANDBEYOND
InternationalAssistancetotheAsia-Pacific
NiamhGaynor
TRANSFORMINGPARTICIPATION?
ThePoliticsofDevelopmentinMalawiandIreland
CarolineHarper,NicolaJones,RonaldU.Mendoza,DavidStewartandErika
Strand(editors)
CHILDRENINCRISIS
SeekingChild-SensitivePolicyResponses
XiaomingHuang,AlexC.TanandSekharBandyopadhyay(editors)
CHINAANDINDIAANDTHEENDOFDEVELOPMENTMODELS
SueKennyandMatthewClarke(editors)
CHALLENGINGCAPACITYBUILDING
ComparativePerspectives
ErikLundsgaarde(editor)
AFRICATOWARD2030
ChallengesforDevelopmentPolicy
SaraC.MottaandAlfGunvaldNilsen(editors)
SOCIALMOVEMENTSINTHEGLOBALSOUTH
Dispossession,DevelopmentandResistance
EricRugraff,DiegoSánchez-AncocheaandAndySumner(editors)
TRANSNATIONALCORPORATIONSANDDEVELOPMENTPOLICY
CriticalPerspectives
RachelSabates-WheelerandRayahFeldman(editors)
MIGRATIONANDSOCIALPROTECTION
ClaimingSocialRightsbeyondBorders
JensStilhoffSörensen(editor)
CHALLENGINGTHEAIDPARADIGM
WesternCurrentsandAsianAlternatives
AndySumnerandMeeraTiwari
AFTER2015:INTERNATIONALDEVELOPMENTPOLICYATACROSSROADS
KatieWright
INTERNATIONALMIGRATION,DEVELOPMENTANDHUMANWELLBEING
RethinkingInternationalDevelopmentSeries
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Basingstoke,HampshireRG216XS,England
International Migration,
Development and Human
Wellbeing
Katie Wright
SeniorLecturerinInternationalDevelopment,UniversityofEastLondon,UK
©KatieWright2012
Foreword©KatieWillis2012
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2012 978-0-230-24828-1
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12
Contents
ListofTables vi
ForewordbyKatieWillis vii
Acknowledgements xii
1 Introduction 1
2 MigratingforaBetterLife? 8
3 ContextualisingHumanWellbeinginLondon
andMadrid 33
4 InternationalMigrationandHumanWellbeing
inLondonandMadrid 50
5 HowDoConstructionsofHumanWellbeingTravel
betweenLondon,MadridandPeru? 85
6 ConclusionsandImplicationsforTheoryandPolicy 125
Notes 136
References 137
Index 146
v
Tables
1.1 Identifyingfunctionalandpsychosocialdomainsof
humanwellbeing 5
3.1 Thesample 44
vi
Foreword
In this fascinating volume, Katie Wright brings together two key
dimensions of recent work on development: firstly, the role of
migration, particularly international migration, and secondly, cen-
tringthenon-economicasthefocusofdevelopmentdefinitions.She
does this through a detailed examination of Peruvian migration to
London and Madrid, drawing on over 100 interviews with migrants
inEurope,andtheirfamilyandfriendsbackinPeru.Usingahuman
wellbeing approach, she builds a convincingargument for adopting
this holistic approach to understanding the impacts of interna-
tional migration on human-centred development. This makes this
volumeaveryworthyadditiontothePalgraveRethinkingInternational
Development series.
Recentmigrationanddevelopmentresearchhasmovedawayfrom
apurefocusonfinancialremittancesandtowardsabroaderhuman
development conceptualisation of the role of migration, particu-
larly international migration (for summaries see e.g. de Haas, 2010;
Willis,2010).Insomecases,aswiththeUnitedNationsDevelopment
Programme’s Human Development Report 2009 (UNDP, 2009), Sen’s
capabilitiesapproachhasbeenused(seealsothespecialissueofJour-
nal of Human Development and Capabilities, 2010). Such an approach
focusesonwhatpeoplecandoandbewithwhattheyhave–thatis,
itfocusesonagencyandfreedomsratherthanonwhatpeoplelack.
For Wright, and others adopting a wellbeing approach (see e.g.
Copestake,2008;White,2010),thereisasimilarfocusonwhatpeo-
ple value and how far they can achieve the lives that they cherish.
As she outlines (in chapters 1 and 2), human wellbeing approaches
differ from the capabilities approach both in breadth and in the
methods used. In particular, there is a distinction between objec-
tive and subjective dimensions of wellbeing. Additionally, there is a
drawing out of different, though interrelated, domains: functional
(such as employment and housing); perceptual (values and emo-
tional dimensions); and relational (intimate relations and broader
vii
viii Foreword
socialrelationships).Usingthisapproach,Wrightdemonstrateshow
Peruvian migrants negotiate their new contexts in London and
Madridtoachievewellbeing,theobstaclestotheirwellbeingandthe
trade-offsbetweendifferentdimensionsofwellbeing.
Notionsof‘livingwell’,orbuenvivir,havebeenincorporatedinto
ideasaboutdevelopmentinsomepartsoftheworld.Whiletherehas
been a growing focus on concepts of happiness as being a key goal
ofnationalpolicy(Layard,2011)andtheconceptofGrossNational
Happiness coming out of Bhutan has received increasing attention,
wellbeing has a different remit. In Ecuador, sumak kawsay (‘living
well’intheindigenousKichwalanguage)hasbeenincorporatedinto
the new constitution. As Radcliffe (2012) argues, this is meant to
reflect a move away from an economically driven, neoliberal devel-
opmentagendatoamorepeople-centredapproach,notleastinwhat
is now officially designated a ‘plurinational state’ which recognises
thediversityofEcuador’spopulationinethnicterms.However,what
living well actually entails on the ground and how individual and
collective constructions of living well are produced and mobilised
are considered less frequently. Wright’s grounded approach to these
debateshelpsaddressthisgap.
By focusing on international migration, Wright is able to interro-
gatehowpeople’sdefinitionsoflivingwellarecontextual,informed
by the different social networks within which they are entwined,
locally,nationallyandtransnationally.Shealsodrawsouttheobsta-
cles to achieving wellbeing outcomes. Rather than starting with a
specific focus on migrants’ lives, such as employment (Wills et al.
2009), and examining how migration has affected migrants’ expe-
riences or opportunities in that sector, Wright starts by finding out
whatisimportanttomigrantsandthenconsiderstheimpactofinter-
nationalmigration.Whileemploymentandotherfunctionalaspects
ofwellbeingareofgreatimportancetomostofthePeruviansinthe
study, starting from a broader perspective gives migrants the oppor-
tunitytoframetheirwellbeingideasthemselves.Italsoprovidesthe
readerwithacleardemonstrationofthediversityoffactorscontribut-
ing to wellbeing and the importance of a holistic interpretation of
wellbeing.
Throughout the book, Wright is sensitive to issues of place and
scale. By investigating Peruvian migrants in Madrid and London,
she is able to consider the national and city-level processes which
Foreword ix
frame migrant experiences (see Chapter 3). While in both cases
migrants are concentrated in low-skilled employment, the broader
political, economic and social contexts provide the migrants with
different opportunities and obstacles. These are particularly impor-
tantinrelationtolanguage,migrationregimesandwelfaresystems.
Additionally,withinthetwocities,Wrightdrawsouttheimportance
of residential neighbourhoods and particular spaces, such as sports
facilities, markets and community centres, in either supporting or
undermining the achievement of desired wellbeing outcomes (see
Chapter4).
While Wright starts with discussions with individuals about what
theyneedtolivewellinLondonorMadrid,theanalysisissensitiveto
boththeimportanceofrelationalaspectsofwellbeingandhowindi-
viduals’ ideas of wellbeing are constructed through social relations.
Additionally, the importance of social variables of gender and gen-
eration are drawn out throughout the book. The growth in research
on gender and migration in the past 20 years has been significant
(forasummary,seeDonatoetal.,2006),butratherthanconsidering
gender identities in isolation from other aspects of migrants’ lives,
Wrightconsidershowtheyfitintobroaderideasoflivingwell,such
as the role of machismo in limiting individual autonomy. A number
offemalemigrantsstatedthatbeingabletomakeyourowndecisions
was a key dimension of living well, and that moving to Europe had
given them opportunities to escape violent or controlling relation-
ships with male partners and/or to see how gender relations could
operateinamoreequalway.
Aparticularlyinnovativeaspectofthebookishowbothconcepts
of wellbeing and wellbeing outcomes are seen as being passed on
from parents to children. Migrating to give children a ‘better life’
is often identified as a theme of migration decision-making, but in
this study, Wright highlights how this intergenerational transfer of
human wellbeing is discussed and strategised, and also the limits to
transfers.
Another novel dimension of the book is the engagement with
the transnational sphere. A transnational focus has become com-
monplace in migration studies since the 1990s (for an overview, see
Vertovec,2009),butwhatWrightdoessocompellinglyhereistogo
beyondafocusontheflowsofremittances(bothfinancialandsocial)
to consider how and why living well is transformed or reinforced
