Migrant-worker remittances and Burma: an economic analysis of survey results

Turnell, Sean; Vicary, Alison; Bradford, Wylie

doi:10.22459/dddm.12.2008.05

Cited by 21 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…According to the survey referred to above, a small proportion of remittances in Burma are used in investments such as buying and developing farm land, establishing businesses and paying for education (Turnell, Vicary and Brandford, 2008). The above findings are synonymous with those drawn from previous research in Ghana and Comoros where below 10% of remittances were allocated for productive investment which was mainly in human capital, such as education and health (Turnell, Vicary and Brandford, 2008).…”

Section: Remittances and Investmentmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Research done in Burma shows that recipient households use remittances according to a hierarchy of needs; unfortunately, productive investment is not on top of the hierarchy (Turnell, Vicary and Brandford, 2008). A survey conducted in Burma has shown that remittances are overwhelmingly employed in the cause for simple survival, with little in the way for funds left over for investment and other "productive"' purposes that would maximize their development impact (Turnell, Vicary and Brandford, 2008). According to the survey referred to above, a small proportion of remittances in Burma are used in investments such as buying and developing farm land, establishing businesses and paying for education (Turnell, Vicary and Brandford, 2008).…”

Section: Remittances and Investmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A survey conducted in Burma has shown that remittances are overwhelmingly employed in the cause for simple survival, with little in the way for funds left over for investment and other "productive"' purposes that would maximize their development impact (Turnell, Vicary and Brandford, 2008). According to the survey referred to above, a small proportion of remittances in Burma are used in investments such as buying and developing farm land, establishing businesses and paying for education (Turnell, Vicary and Brandford, 2008). The above findings are synonymous with those drawn from previous research in Ghana and Comoros where below 10% of remittances were allocated for productive investment which was mainly in human capital, such as education and health (Turnell, Vicary and Brandford, 2008).…”

Section: Remittances and Investmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Migrant Remittances, Livelihoods and Investment: Evidence from Tsholotsho District in the Matabeleland North Province of Zimbabwe

Nzima

Duma

Moyo

2016

MET

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper traces the developmental contribution of migrant remittances sent from South Africa to the Tsholotsho district of Matabeleland North province of Zimbabwe. Since the discovery of gold in South Africa, Zimbabweans from this region have been migrating to South Africa to seek employment. In recent times, the culture of migration in Tsholotsho continues to strengthen, as women have also joined this previously male dominated livelihood strategy. Debates on migration and development have often centered on the role of remittances as a key instrument for development in migrant sending countries. Governments and multilateral institutions have also taken up remittances as a policy priority with a keen interest. This study was conducted using a mixed methods approach. A total of 159 participants completed self-administered quantitative questionnaires. In addition, 5 in-depth qualitative interviews with key informants were conducted in Tsholotsho, while 10 in-depth interviews with migrants were conducted in Johannesburg, South Africa. The results of this study show that the majority of migrant remittances are largely used for unproductive consumption. However, there also exists a measure of investment owing to the need to satisfy the surging consumer demands within the local economy. In this paper, results have shown that migrant remittances are a key livelihood factor without which many poor people would be severely vulnerable to poverty and hunger.

show abstract

Section: Remittances and Investmentmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Remittances and Investmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Remittances and Investmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Migrant Remittances, Livelihoods and Investment: Evidence from Tsholotsho District in the Matabeleland North Province of Zimbabwe

Nzima

Duma

Moyo

2016

MET

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In spite of their low wages and unstable employment, a very high proportion of migrant women workers continue to remit money to their natal families (Sean Turnell, Alison Vicary, and Wylie Bradford 2008), with migrant women remitting almost as much as migrant men in spite of lower wages (Kyoko Kusakabe and Ruth Pearson 2010a). 21 Even after the negative effects of the recent global economic crisis on the employment and earnings of migrant workers in Thailand, nearly 30 percent of our sample reported that they were remitting to their families in Burma more in 2010 than in 2007.…”

Section: Remittances As Reproductive Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who Cares? Gender, Reproduction, and Care Chains of Burmese Migrant Workers in Thailand

Pearson

Kusakabe²

2012

Feminist Economics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study analyzes the challenges facing Burmese women factory workers in Thailand who seek to secure the daily reproduction of their labor power as well as the generational reproduction of their children. It illustrates how the reproduction of workers' labor is crucial for the social reproduction of a global economy in which migration is increasingly central to the changing contours of economic development and accumulation. Based on twenty-four months of research, which included life history interviews and survey responses obtained at three sites of factory production in Thailand, the study charts the complexities of Burmese migrant workers' transborder care strategies, as they manage their responsibilities to their children and natal families. Moreover, in analyzing the care burdens of migrant women employed in non-care sectors, this contribution expands the global care chain framework and adds to the understanding of the intersection of productive and reproductive work in contemporary globalization

show abstract

“…They are mostly ethnic Karens and Karennis, with smaller communities of Burman, Mon, Shan, Akha and Rakhine refugees, and their plight has been well documented since the construction of the first refugee camp on Thai soil in 1984 (South 2008: 82 (Arnold and Hewison 2005), others without much accomplishment (Toyota 2006; Eberle and Holliday 2011). Since the early 1990s, the Thailand-Myanmar border has offered Burmese migrants employment networks, political support, and opportunities to get an education and earn money to send back to relatives in Myanmar (Hyndman 2001;Turnell, Vicar, and Bradford 2008;Zeus 2011). This is the most thriving of Myanmar's border areas, a place of increased transnational connectivity, well studied by recent academia (Brees 2009(Brees , 2010, with a fresh focus on Christian communities (Hortsmann 2011) and on the ethnic Shans (Jirattikorn 2011).…”

Section: Thailandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Burma in Diaspora: A Preliminary Research Note on the Politics of Burmese Diasporic Communities in Asia

Egreteau

2012

Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This research note focuses on the far-flung Burmese overseas communities, situating them into the wider diaspora literature. Drawing on extant scholarship on refugees, migrants and exiled dissidents of Burmese origin, it presents an original cartography of Burmese diasporic groups dispersed throughout Asia. It explores their migration patterns and tentatively maps out their transnational networks. It seeks to comparatively examine the relationships these polymorphous exiled groups have developed with the homeland. Two research questions have been identified and need further exploration in the context of the post-junta opening that has been observed since 2011: First, what comprises the contribution of the Burmese diaspora to political change and homeland democratization? This has been widely debated over the years. Despite a dynamic transnational activism, there is still little evidence that overseas Burmese have influenced recent domestic political developments. Second and subsequently, how can the Burmese diaspora effectively generate social and economic change back home: by “remitting” or by “returning”? This note argues that Burmese migrant social and financial remittances might prove a more viable instrument to foster development and democratization inside Myanmar in the short term than a mere homecoming of exiles and skilled migrants. This is a preliminary analysis that hopes to encourage further research on Burmese diasporic politics and their potential leverage as “agents of change”.

show abstract

Migrant-worker remittances and Burma: an economic analysis of survey results

Cited by 21 publications

References 19 publications

Migrant Remittances, Livelihoods and Investment: Evidence from Tsholotsho District in the Matabeleland North Province of Zimbabwe

Migrant Remittances, Livelihoods and Investment: Evidence from Tsholotsho District in the Matabeleland North Province of Zimbabwe

Who Cares? Gender, Reproduction, and Care Chains of Burmese Migrant Workers in Thailand

Burma in Diaspora: A Preliminary Research Note on the Politics of Burmese Diasporic Communities in Asia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About