Volume 16, 2007

Issue N. 4: The Migration and Development Prism: A Lens on Vulnerabilities and Capabilities

Sara R. Curran, Jody Dyer and Kim Korinek

"The Migration and Development Prism: A Lens on Vulnerabilities and Capabilities," Vol. 16 (4), pp. 443-450, 2007


James R. Hull
"Migration, Remittances and Monetization of Farm Labor in Subsistence Sending Areas," Vol. 16 (4), pp. 451-384, 2007

Obtaining the labor necessary to perform household agricultural tasks in contexts with periods of intense labor demand can be a challenge. The challenge is especially pronounced in Northeast Thailand where biophysical conditions constrain the possibilities for labor reduction, while still maintaining productivity, and demographic changes in the supply of laborers place some households in a particular bind. Out-migration is hypothesized to impact the household’s decision to grow rice and method of acquiring the necessary labor. Out-migration influences these decisions through lost labor and migrant remittances. These relationships are used to help explain the rapid monetization of agricultural labor in a region of Northeastern Thailand over the period 1994 to 2000. I find that remittances are related to the monetization of agricultural labor, likely through allowing households to escape labor constraints by paying non-household laborers in cash. No such support is found for a pure labor-loss effect driving monetization.

Aree Jampaklay, Kim Korinek and Barbara Entwisle
"Residential Clustering Among Nang Rong Migrants in Urban Settings of Thailand," Vol. 16 (4), pp. 385-510, 2007
 

This study examines the residential patterns of rural-urban migrants in Thailand. The analysis takes advantage of a rich dataset that followed migrants from rural Nang Rong, a district in the Isan region, to the Bangkok metropolitan area and the Eastern Seaboard. Findings document substantial residential clustering: almost half of the migrants interviewed in 2000 and 2001 lived in neighborhoods where 80 percent or more of their neighbors came from Isan. Migrants with less than a secondary education, those working in factory jobs, and those working with other migrants from Isan were more likely to be living in Isan-concentrated neighborhoods, net of other variables.
 

Sanghita K. Bhattacharyya and Kim Korinek
"Opportunities and Vulnerabilities of Female Migrants in Construction Work in India," Vol. 16 (4), pp. 511-532, 2007
 

This paper is based on a case study of female migrants working in construction-the second largest industry in India and one which employs almost 30 million people, approximately 30 percent of which are women, many of them migrants. In this paper, we extend beyond an empirical description of female migrant workers in the field of construction, considering the subjective and nuanced realities linked to women’s lived experiences as migrants. The study is based on interviews of 110 female construction workers who have migrated from various regions of India to the city of Delhi. An in-depth, qualitative exploration of these women’s lives and perceptions captures some of the more latent risks and rewards associated with both migration and work in the informal sector. Specifically, the results shed light on how strong societal norms may actually prevent women from acknowledging or articulating the true reasons for their migrations.
 

Catharina Williams
"Women's Mobility, Changing Gender Relations and Development in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia," Vol. 16 (4), pp. 533-554, 2007
 

This paper investigates the relationships between mobility and the constitution of gender relations and subjectivities of rural-urban female migrants in Indonesia. Employing an ethnographic approach, my research explores meanings of space and changing relationships for migrant subjects. A specific group of migrants – teachers and nurses from the outer islands of Eastern Indonesia – working in urban centers elaborate on their stories of migration. The reasons and consequences of their migration reflect intricate and shifting gender relations, as boundaries of propriety are redefined through spatial movement. This kind of mobility suggests that women migrate for multiple reasons requiring various scales of analysis. Migrants reveal shifting subjectivity and changing relations with family and local communities whilst participating in political and economic spaces.

Patreeya Kitcharoen
"An Ethnography of Restaurant Workers: Thai Women in England," Vol. 16 (4), pp. 555-578, 2007
 

This article presents the results of an ethnographic study of women employed in a successful chain of Thai restaurants in England. The study aims to illuminate the experiences of migrant women in an ethnic, Thai-owned business. Building on household strategies, it describes a pattern of female transnational migration from Thailand. It uses the tools of participant observation and in-depth interviews to examine the daily lives of women in the restaurants, their accommodations, their communities in the UK and the ways in which they maintain transnational households through their personal contacts, visits and remittances. The study finds that the restaurant’s full-time employed women live in isolation from the local community. Although the work performed by these women is rigidly disciplined, there is a high level of trust between them and their employers. The full-time employed women report positive outcomes associated with their transnational lives despite the harshness of their lived realities.