IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v12y2023i3p135-d1082484.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From Left-Behind Children to Youth Labor Migrants: The Impact of Household Networks, Gendered Migration, and Relay Migration in Southeast Asia

Author

Listed:
  • Cheng Chow

    (Department of Social Work and Social Administrations, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China)

  • Xiaochen Zhou

    (Department of Social Work and Social Administrations, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China)

  • Yao Fu

    (Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China)

  • Aree Jampaklay

    (Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, 999 Phuttamonthon 4 Road, Salaya 73170, Thailand)

  • Lucy P. Jordan

    (Department of Social Work and Social Administrations, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China)

Abstract

Do children with migrant parents or migrant family members have a greater likelihood of migration as they reach adulthood? Three possible patterns of youth migration are examined in this study: (1) network migration, when families migrating first pave the way for subsequent generations to follow; (2) gendered migration, where the gender of migrant parents and left-behind children influences the probability of youth migration; and (3) relay migration, which involves transgenerational migration switching within a family. We use data collected from Thailand in 2008/2010 (Wave 1) and tracked in 2019 (Wave 2) to understand how the migration of parents and other family members influenced youth migration in 2019. Within the network effect, household migration was one of the driving forces behind youth migration, while mother-involved migration appeared to be strongly associated with youth labor migration, especially among males. There is, however, no evidence that return migration, whether parental or non-parental in the same household, was associated with an increased likelihood of youth labor migration. This study demonstrates the relative strength of network effects of household migration when compared to relay migration on youth migration. The findings also highlight the complexity of gender-based migration in the Thai context. This research contributes to the larger field of left-behind children and youth migration by establishing the transition between these two roles and illustrating different reasons for migration in sending countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Cheng Chow & Xiaochen Zhou & Yao Fu & Aree Jampaklay & Lucy P. Jordan, 2023. "From Left-Behind Children to Youth Labor Migrants: The Impact of Household Networks, Gendered Migration, and Relay Migration in Southeast Asia," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-22, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:3:p:135-:d:1082484
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/3/135/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/3/135/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chang, Hongqin & Dong, Xiao-yuan & MacPhail, Fiona, 2011. "Labor Migration and Time Use Patterns of the Left-behind Children and Elderly in Rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 2199-2210.
    2. Abramitzky, Ran & Boustan, Leah Platt & Eriksson, Katherine, 2013. "Have the poor always been less likely to migrate? Evidence from inheritance practices during the age of mass migration," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 2-14.
    3. Filiz Garip, 2014. "The Impact of Migration and Remittances on Wealth Accumulation and Distribution in Rural Thailand," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(2), pages 673-698, April.
    4. Oded Stark & J. Taylor, 1989. "Relative deprivation and international migration oded stark," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 26(1), pages 1-14, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael A. Clemens, 2014. "Does development reduce migration?," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.), International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, chapter 6, pages 152-185, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Özcan Dağdemir & Zeki Kartal & Rukiye Tinas & Hüseyin Gürbüz, 2018. "The Impact of Migration on Poverty and Income Distribution in a Rural Region in Turkey," Remittances Review, Remittances Review, vol. 3(2), pages 151-176, October.
    3. Wassink, Joshua, 2020. "International migration experience and entrepreneurship: Evidence from Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    4. Mohamed Amara & Hatem Jemmali, 2018. "Deciphering the Relationship Between Internal Migration and Regional Disparities in Tunisia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 135(1), pages 313-331, January.
    5. Pfau, Wade Donald, 2008. "Determinants and Impacts of International Remittances on Household Welfare in Vietnam," MPRA Paper 19038, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Vincent Geloso & Linan Peng, 2024. "Postbellum electoral politics in California and the genesis of the Chinese exclusion act of 1882," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 403-434, June.
    7. Chong Lu, 2022. "The effect of migration on rural residents’ intergenerational subjective social status mobility in China," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3279-3308, October.
    8. de Arce, Rafael & Mahia, Ramon, 2008. "Determinants of Bilateral Immigration Flows Between The European Union and some Mediterranean Partner Countries: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey," MPRA Paper 14547, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Fernando A. Lozano & Mary J. Lopez, 2013. "Border Enforcement and Selection of Mexican Immigrants in the United States," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 76-110, January.
    10. Bossert, Walter & D’Ambrosio, Conchita, 2014. "Proximity-sensitive individual deprivation measures," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 125-128.
    11. Mathenge, Mary K. & Smale, Melinda & Olwande, John, 2012. "The Impact of Maize Hybrids on Income, Poverty, and Inequality among Smallholder Farmers in Kenya," Food Security International Development Working Papers 146931, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    12. David, Blight, 2020. "Trends of International Migration since Post-World War II," MPRA Paper 106307, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2020.
    13. Maoyong Fan & Susan Gabbard & Anita Alves Pena & Jeffrey M. Perloff, 2015. "Why Do Fewer Agricultural Workers Migrate Now?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 97(3), pages 665-679.
    14. Nikeel Nishkar Kumar & Arvind Patel, 2022. "Income thresholds in the remittances-growth association? a case study of Fiji," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(19), pages 1815-1823, November.
    15. Oded Stark & Franz Rendl & Marcin Jakubek, 2012. "The merger of populations, the incidence of marriages, and aggregate unhappiness," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 331-344, April.
    16. Silvia Maja Melzer & Ruud J. Muffels, 2012. "Migrant's Pursuit of Happiness: The Impact of Adaption, Social Comparison and Relative Deprivation; Evidence from a 'Natural' Experiment," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 448, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    17. Peter Huber & Doris Oberdabernig & Jesús Crespo Cuaresma & Anna Raggl, 2015. "Migration in an Ageing Europe: What are the Challenges? WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 79," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 57886.
    18. Maria Waldinger, 2015. "The effects of climate change on internal and international migration: implications for developing countries," GRI Working Papers 192, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    19. Katrina Kosec & Hosaena Ghebru & Brian Holtemeyer & Valerie Mueller & Emily Schmidt, 2018. "The Effect of Land Access on Youth Employment and Migration Decisions: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 100(3), pages 931-954.
    20. Maryann Bylander & Erin Hamilton, 2015. "Loans and Leaving: Migration and the Expansion of Microcredit in Cambodia," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 34(5), pages 687-708, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:3:p:135-:d:1082484. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.