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M.Phil. / Global capital inflows particularly foreign direct investment, official development assistance and portfolio flows, have over time, played a prominent role in strengthening developing economies. There is, however, a recent phenomenon in which migrant remittances have turned out to be the leading source of capital inflows to developing countries after foreign direct investment. Remittance flows have reacted largely to an increasing international migration, albeit more rapidly than the latter. It is observed nevertheless that in the case of South Africa, the impact of neither of the two phenomena on economic development is least understood. This formed the basis for this study. The study aims to sensitise policy officials to the positive potential impacts of remittances on economic development whilst also arguing that international migration is an exogenous phenomenon that cannot be prohibited. However, it is a source of a much needed resources, provided realistic instruments are in place to examine, monitor and ensure that remittances are used appropriately. The study is empirical and is based on the literature review on the subjects of remittances and migration. The research has consistently demonstrated that remittances improve economic development. It is within this context that South Africa should, as a matter of urgency, develop an effective policy framework to influence remittances for development.

M.A. Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / The thesis investigates the reasons for the decision made by many Zimbabweans to self-settle in remote villages in Limpopo. It shows that while significant literature exists on Zimbabweans in border and urban areas, there are several inter-related factors that are drawing Zimbabweans to rural areas. Thus, this study challenges many common assumptions about cross-border migration while supporting the idea that migrants settle in areas where economic stability can be achieved. This study also shows that the existence of parallel government structures and policy frameworks plays a major role in the ability of Zimbabweans to settle in these areas. This is a case study of Zimbabweans settling in a rural area where there are no pre-existing ethnic or kinship ties. Utilizing empirical qualitative data, this study outlines how Zimbabweans have achieved a degree of stability in one area of Limpopo through a series of rights procurements and access to parallel government structures. This has legitimized their presence within the village while their presence in South Africa outside of this village is precarious at denizenship within the village as Zimbabweans have access to services that are not accessible to them outside best. The legitimacy created by accessing these parallel structures has created de facto of the village. This denizenship, and the security it bestows, is an instrumental factor in the decision making process that had led many Zimbabweans to self-settle in rural areas.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Supervisors: Hans Boas and Mark Southern. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 1998. Graduate Programme in Political Science. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 323-337). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ27328.

China's internal migration has drawn extensive interest since the 1980s, and numerous studies have focused on migrant workers who are employed by the "world’s factories". However, less attention has been paid to migrant workers participating in the informal economy in urban China. In fact, the informal economy, which refers to income-generating activities that are not regulated by the state, has been estimated to have expanded dramatically over the past two decades, and migrant workers comprise the overwhelming majority of participants in the informal sector. These informals are mostly self-employed or paid employees working for informal factories hidden in the urban villages. This study, taking an urban village known as Kangle village in Guangzhou as its research site, adopts an ethnographic method to understand the lives of China's migrant workers engaged in the informal economy. It attempts to (1) examine the institutional environment for the expansion of the informal economy in urban China, (2) understand the individual choices of migrant workers in terms of being formal or informal, (3) explore their economic performance and (4) discover whether the informal economy could represent an alternative for migrant workers to achieve upward mobility in receiving cities. It is found that institutional factors, including policy practices of the state, regulation enforcement by local government and the relative autonomy of the migrant enclave all contribute to the development of the informal economy in urban China. Individual choices in being formal or informal are based primarily on participants' rational calculations comparing costs and benefits; howbeit these choices have actually been largely affected by the social networks of migrant workers. Migrant workers engaged in the informal economy receive relatively higher incomes than their counterparts in the formal sector. However, the higher monthly incomes for the wage employees in the informal economy can also be viewed as compensation for their willingness to undertake the risky, dirty, long-hour informal jobs. Social networks have also played an essential role in the economic performance of migrant workers in the informal economy. For instance, the strong social ties of migrant workers largely facilitate the process of becoming self-employed or migrant entrepreneurs by providing market information, financial support and labor resources. Also, the use of social networks reduces the transaction costs between different business owners in the informal sector where formal contracts are absent. Economic stratification among the migrant workers in the urban village is obvious, and a small number of migrants have achieved economic success by becoming self-employed or migrant entrepreneurs. Nonetheless, migrant entrepreneurship cannot continue to be a sustainable alternative for the majority of migrant workers to achieve upward mobility due to the vulnerability of the informal economy and the absence of institutional inclusion for the participants in the informal economy. It is thus suggested that society and government rethink and adjust current institutional settings to improve work conditions, promote entrepreneurship, and facilitate the formalization of the informal economy on the one hand; meanwhile initiate top-down reforms for the integration of migrant workers in both the formal and informal sectors. / published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy