Migrant workers enchanted with consumer society: transnationalism and global consumer culture in Bangladesh

This article reconsiders the relationship between transnationalism from above and from below, focusing on the consumer behavior of migrant workers. Although transnationalism from below may be regarded as positive resistance to dependence on nation-states and global capital, it also facilitates incorporation into global consumer cultures. This article reports how Bangladeshi return migrants have been enchanted by consumer practices in industrialized countries and have transmitted them into Bangladesh. Return migrants bring consumption habits as well as savings and remittances from industrialized countries. Returnees consequently spread consumer culture to their homelands efficiently, promoting the penetration of global capital and further migration.