ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on economic impacts of transnational migration at the local level. Miraflorenos live better but they are almost completely dependent on remittances from the United States to be able to do so. Both households and the community at large have grown dependent on migrant contributions to meet their daily needs, to build the infrastructure, and to provide basic health and educational services. The chapter proposes a conceptual framework for understanding transnational connections and explores their implications for policy-makers. The transnational village created by migration between the Dominican Republic and Boston, Massachusetts is emblematic of changes in contemporary migration patterns. Migration to Boston from the Dominican village of Miraflores began in the late 1960s. A transnational approach to migration remains controversial. While some admit that transnational activism may be important for the first generation, they predict that these ties will disappear among their children.
