Contexts of Reception, Post-Disaster Migration, and Socioeconomic Mobility

• In Event: 181 - Regular Session. Disasters: Resilience, Vulnerability, and Risk

Abstract

Poor and otherwise marginalized populations are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. However, current theories of post-disaster migration and mobility fail to account for the larger social and structural contexts within which low-income populations undertake the migration decision. I extend a theoretical framework from the sociology of immigration – the context of reception approach – and systematize the disparate findings in the literature on how distinct policy, labor market, and social contexts influence post-disaster migration decisions for a vulnerable population. Drawing on longitudinal interview data from the Resilience in the Survivors of Katrina Project, I find that individuals’ subjective experiences with each context – especially the social dimension – underlay respondents’ post-Katrina migration decisions. Specifically, processes of evaluation between origin and destination, perceptions of discrimination, and changing contexts over time all influence respondents’ post-disaster migration decisions. I suggest implications for future research on post-disaster migration and, more generally, residential stability for vulnerable populations.

Author

• Asad L. Asad, Harvard University