Hans Buechler

This book is the product of a long, manifold involvement with life in Bolivia in general and productive processes in particular. It conveys a sense of the myriad decisions that Bolivian small-scale producers have to make in the extraordinarily fluid situations they must cope with.

In Third World countries, small-scale manufacturers supply a large part of the nation's consumer goods, often meeting needs that larger operations of foreign imports cannot. Enlivened by the oral histories of women and men of rural and urban backgrounds, this book depicts the struggle of artisan and small-scale manufacturing enterprises in La Paz

This is an oral history of a second-generation, urban-born woman who struggles to survive in the poor, Andean city of La Paz. It shows how her identity shifts over time, shaped by the major events in her life. Topics range fron social networks to magical interventions and clairvoyant dreaming.

Although studies have been made of individual aspects of the problem, this volume is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of both the theoretical issues and the scope and variety of present-day migratory movements in Europe, together with their historical antecedents. In his introduction, Hans Buechler reviews significant previous research and outlines the theoretical framework of the present volume. The primary focus of the chapters that follow is the experience of migrants and of household members who remain at home, analyzed within the total context of migration in both host and sender countries. The effects of migration on family economy and kin relationships are examined in detail. Among the issues explored are economic decision-making processes in migrant households, the implications of migration for family landholding, ties between migrants and family left behind, and kin, friendship, and neighborhood networks. Other topics considered are the working and social environment experienced by migrants; labor policies and restrictions relating to employment, work permits, and workers' families; and the problems connected with returning home. The final section, a bibliographic essay by Judith-Maria Buechler, helps to put the various individual contributions in a wider perspective.