Remittance Behaviors of International Migrants in Comparative Perspective: The Case in Fujian, China

Taking an origin-destination linked approach, we compare remittance behaviors of Fuzhou-US and Mingxi-Europe migrants. We find that different mechanisms predict propensity to remit and the amount of remittances. Altruistic remittance is more consistent with the remitting propensities of migrants from the poorer Mingxi region but is also reflected in the remittance amount of migrants from Fuzhou, where there is higher economic disparity and where people who fail to consume lavishly are socially sanctioned. When emigration is risky, circuitous, and expensive, we find, migration cost drives the remittance amount. In Fuzhou, where cultural practice is developed to confer honor on public project donors, more households are motivated to contribute to public infrastructure. These results provide economic, political, and cultural contexts for remittance theories, identify contexts that promote community development, and help reconcile debates derived from single case studies in various settings.