The Filipino 'Backer System' in the Maritime Industry
The Privileged Access to Seafaring Jobs
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2487764 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marjorie Ablanido Maido (0000-0003-1609-602X, Eötvös Loránd University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue | 48 |
| Pages | 51-70 |
| Publication date | 2022-04-28 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociologija Mintis ir veiksmas (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1392-3358 • E-ISSN: 2335-8890 |
| Publisher | Vilnius University Press (PUBLISHER • LT) |
| DOI | 10.15388/socmintvei.2021.1.31 |
| OpenAlex | W4297440654 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 51 |
Drawing from the narratives of twenty-eight global Filipino seafarers and two Crewing Managers, this paper analyzes how Bourdieu's notion of social capital is utilized through the Filipino 'backer system'. The 'backer system' refers to a legitimated practice in the maritime industry where an applicant seeks a backer or a patron to recommend him to a manning agency to launch his seafaring career. This practice, however, is governed by characteristics that define the power relations among the social actors. The backer system emphasizes why strong ties matter - how the utilization of family social capital and ethnic ties mobilizes a jobseeker's career and how prospective seafarers usually access these ties. As social capital is a network of trust and reciprocity, the Filipino value of utang na loob reflects the nature of the transaction enclosed in the 'backer system'. Utang na loob refers to debt of goodwill where one who receives favor from another is morally required to return the favor. However, as polarizing as it is, the principle of utang na loob is shaped as symbolic capital and symbolic violence. As a capital, it transforms a disadvantaged position into an advantaged one, where economic and instrumental gains are received. When the transaction becomes abusive and exploitative, it becomes symbolic violence. Premised on an unequal endowment of social capital, the 'backer system' reproduces inequality, where those with merit and cultural capital fail to advance their careers because their social capital is non-existent or inadequate
Disadvantaged · Economic growth · Economics · Social capital · Social science · Sociology · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy · Socioeconomic Development in Asia
Law, Normative Pluralism, and Post-Disaster Recovery
Narrative Inquiry as Pedagogy in Education
Culture and Power
Strong Ties and Job Information
The Filipino Seafarer
Socially Included or Excluded? The Role of Social Capital among Filipino Labour Migrants
Ask and you shall receive
Referrals and information flow in networks increase discrimination
Consequential Strangers and Peripheral Ties
The Inefficacy of Strong Ties Networks in Migration Employment Outcomes
Seafaring Citizenship
Twilling Bata-Bata into Meritocracy
The role of various types of capital in transnational labor migration from the Philippines
Inequality in Social Capital
Parental Involvement and Children’s Educational Performance
Lured Abroad
Family and Personal Networks in International Migration
Bowling Alone
Bringing Strong Ties Back in
The Norm of Reciprocity
Ethnic Ties
Social Space and Symbolic Power
When Does Social Capital Matter? Non-Searching For Jobs Across the Life Course
The Strength of Weak Ties Revisited
Utility Manning
Social capital and job search assistance
Social Capital
Utang Na Loob
Don't put my name on it
Weak Ties, Employment, and Inequality
Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital
The Strength of Weak Ties
Social Capital at Work
Social Capital and Job Search in Urban China
The study of transnationalism
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |