Enviar o no enviar migradólares: migración y remesas en Puerto Rico, República Dominicana y México
- Autores: Jorge Duany
- Localización: Camino Real: estudios de las hispanidades norteamericanas, ISSN 1889-5611, Nº. 1, 2009, págs. 27-52
- Idioma: español
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Resumen
Puerto Ricans in the United States send less money to their relatives in their country of origin than most other Hispanics. The paradox of the relatively low level of remittances to Puerto Rico, despite a high outmigration rate, warrants further investigation. This essay compares remittance patterns among Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Mexicans in the United States. In particular, it assesses the impact of transfer payments from the U.S. government on Puerto Rican remittances. A plausible explanation for the low level of private transfers of Puerto Ricans is that public disbursements, especially for nutritional assistance, housing subsidies, and educational grants, play the safety net role in Puerto Rico that remittances do elsewhere. Furthermore, most Puerto Ricans have unemployment and disability insurance, and many have earned benefits such as Social Security, Medicare, and veterans’ pensions. Finally, because of Puerto Rico’s relatively high standard of living, many migrants do not feel as obliged to send money to their relatives as Mexicans or Dominicans. The broader implications for the transnational ties between Puerto Ricans on and off the Island are examined and compared with the other two groups.
