The Migration of Women in the Light of the Backward and Forward Linkages

The article focuses on women’s migration between the two coasts of the Mediterranean and on its effects on sending and receiving societies. It examines, through 219 direct interviews, how migration -mainly triggered by family reunification- informs social change considering both the perspective of women who have emigrated and those who are left behind. The empirical study -carried out in an economically developed Italian region and in a rural region of Morocco- has a twofold aim: (i) to explore the social changes affecting the position of migrant women in the labour market and the family context, and their role of agency (ii) to consider the impact of transnational activities on the migrant source country, concerning the economic (and social) remittances and their use. The findings highlight that female migration produces independent outcomes largely related to social investments and human capital accumulation, both aspects that can only be assessed over the long term. The study suggests how the first stage of migration leads, through the activation of backward and forward linkages, to a second and unpredictable stage, as the Hirschman’s processual approach to development suggested.