Social capital in community, family, and work lives of Brazilian migrant parents in Ireland

Abstract

The paper examines a recent phenomenon of Brazilian migration to Ireland using social capital as a framework of analysis. The analysis specifically makes use of Portes and Sensenbrenner's typology of social capital sources (1993; Portes, 1998): bounded solidarity, value introjection, reciprocity, and enforceable trust. The paper examines the processes and dynamics inhering within these sources of social capital to account for the differential experiences of family, work, and community life in Ireland. The absence or presence of social capital sources, it is argued, is important in the experience of settlement and adaptation, especially in exacerbating or countering the disadvantages facing migrants. The evidence used is based on recent research from qualitative interviews with Brazilian parents in a small town in the west of Ireland, and residing in Ireland for several years.