Gender, Values, and Intentions to Move in Rural Thailand

Abstract

This article explores gender differences in the intentions to move among a sample of young adults in rural northeastern Thailand. Based on the value-expectancy framework of migration decisionmaking, an explanatory model is tested which includes migration-related value measures along with individual, household and community-level determinants of both intentions to move and change in intentions to move. Multinomial logistic regression results based on data from the 1992 Thailand National Migration Survey provide some support for the hypothesis of gender-specific determinants of both intentions to move and the reconsideration of migration intentions. For men, value measures of affiliation and comfort, social networks, the presence of young children in the family, and land holdings are significant determinants of migration decisionmaking; for women income and comfort values, the presence of elderly persons in the household, community size, and crop losses are the salient factors. The results are discussed in light of traditional and current cultural expectations for men and women in rural Thailand.

The Cross-country Determinants of Potential and Actual Migration

“…Our main specification considers the revealed migration preference for a specific destination country d . This may be a strong assumption (De Jong et al ., ; De Jong, ) which is relaxed when we analyze the overall migration potential (rather than bilateral) by aggregating all potential migrants in a country of origin. Allowing for heterogeneity in preferences across individuals, but assuming that all individuals (1) value income from higher wages and higher probability of employment and (2) incur higher costs when moving farther and to more different countries, implies that – after controlling for country‐of‐origin characteristics – the share of people who would potentially migrate from o to d among all individuals, , depends positively on the returns and negatively on the costs of migrating from o to d ( see Borjas, ; or Grogger and Hanson, for a similar framework).…”

Depending on the Sky: Environmental Distress, Migration, and Coping in Rural Cambodia

“…In particular, there are reasons to believe that the ways that environmental factors impact migration are far more complex than as a response to singular events or income shifts, as we know that economic, political, and social context play a strong role in mediating the impact of environmental stressors (Warner and Afifi, ; Doevenspeck, ). For example, in some contexts specific environmental shocks do not spur migration or do so only selectively, suggesting that resilience and means of coping vary by context (Van der Geest, ; Gray, ; DeJong et al, ; Massey, Axinn, and Ghimire, ).…”

Eager to Leave? Intentions to Migrate Abroad among Young People in Kyrgyzstan

“…An important segment of the migration literature deals with gender differences in migration motivations, decisions, and behavior (De Jong, Richter, and Isarabhakdi, 1996; De Jong, 2000; Kanaiaupuni, 2000). In the global migration flows men continue to outnumber women, and despite sizeable and rising migration of women in some regions and occupational niches (Chant, 1992; Zlotnik, 1995; Kofman, 1999; Kanaiaupuni, 2000), the part of the world on which we focus this analysis is still dominated by male migration (Laruelle, 2006).…”

“…Finally, migration choices and preferences may be influenced by individuals’ perceptions of their socioeconomic and political environment at either migration origin or migration destination (Stinner and Van Loon, 1992; De Jong, Richter, and Isarabhakdi, 1996; De Jong, 2000). For a study like ours, which focuses on the sending context, individuals and social groups that perceive their existing personal and collective opportunities as being circumscribed by a hostile political system or an unfavorable structure of economic and social opportunities may develop and articulate stronger inclinations to migrate.…”