Emigration, remittances and emerging family structure: findings from a household survey in eight selected villages in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Migration from India to the Gulf Countries has increased dramatically in recent years. Does it actually have an impact on the joint family structure? India has been known for prevailing type of joint/extended families. This paper aims to throw new evidences for introducing the concept of “federated family”. Using primary survey data collected from 328 rural emigrant households in eight villages from the district of Kushinagar in eastern Uttar Pradesh in India, this paper contributes to the debate of socio-economic development and impact of international remittances at migrants’ places of origin. It is the first study which addresses the concept of federated family in India. Federated family seems to be a joint family, where all its members stay under the same roof but use separate kitchens.