ABSTRACT
We frame remittances as ‘subaltern giving’ or giving by the poor and marginalized towards other marginalized populations. Even though remittances giving to the ‘in group’ represents most cases, there are instances when it exhibits philanthropic characteristics—of addressing the ‘common good.’ We critically examine how remittances can be seen as a new form of solidarity among people who are marginalized. This new perspective, which moves beyond economic rationality and seeks to examine this behavior in terms of ‘community of practice’ (Page, 2012), has not been explored and examined in much depth. We frame the theory of remittances as a theory of praxis and offer a mid-range theory using a Grounded Theory approach. We argue that this perspective of examining remittances dispels many stereotypes and brings greater clarity to why people send money to their relatives or friends in the country of their origins.
