IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/dem/demres/v30y2014i39.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Household ecology and out-migration among ethnic Karen along the Thai-Myanmar border

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel M. Parker

    (University of California, Irvine)

  • James W. Wood

    (Pennsylvania State University)

  • Shinsuke Tomita

    (Kyoto University)

  • Sharon DeWitte

    (University of South Carolina)

  • Julia Jennings

    (State University of New York at Albany)

  • Liwang Cui

    (Pennsylvania State University)

Abstract

Background: Local migration in developing-world settings, particularly among rural populations, is an important yet understudied demographic process. Research on migration in such populations can help us test and inform anthropological and demographic theory. Furthermore, it can lead to a better understanding of modern population distributions and epidemiologic landscapes. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential relationships between household- and individual-level factors on out-migration among Karen villagers along the Thai-Myanmar border. Methods: We used a random effects hazard model to investigate the relationship of household consumer-producer (C/P) ratios, the number of household members, and an individual's sex on the odds of outmigration. We then used simulations in order to test the sensitivity of our model to our C/P ratio weighting scheme. Results: We found that the number of household members is predictive of increased out-migration. Household C/P ratios were positively associated with out-migration in children but negatively associated with out-migration in working age adults. Finally, adult males were much more likely to move out of the household than were adult females. Conclusions: While household-level factors are important with regard to out-migration, the relationships between such household-level factors and out-migration are complex and vary by the individual's age and sex. Our study offers two novel concepts to household demography and migration studies. First, this study offers a new approach to evaluating weighting schemes for C/P ratios. Second, we show that household level factors are important at units of time (two-week intervals) that are not normally studied by demographers.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel M. Parker & James W. Wood & Shinsuke Tomita & Sharon DeWitte & Julia Jennings & Liwang Cui, 2014. "Household ecology and out-migration among ethnic Karen along the Thai-Myanmar border," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(39), pages 1129-1156.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:30:y:2014:i:39
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2014.30.39
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol30/39/30-39.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4054/DemRes.2014.30.39?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Matthew J. Ferrari & Rebecca F. Grais & Nita Bharti & Andrew J. K. Conlan & Ottar N. Bjørnstad & Lara J. Wolfson & Philippe J. Guerin & Ali Djibo & Bryan T. Grenfell, 2008. "The dynamics of measles in sub-Saharan Africa," Nature, Nature, vol. 451(7179), pages 679-684, February.
    2. Everett Lee, 1966. "A theory of migration," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 3(1), pages 47-57, March.
    3. Stark, Oded & Bloom, David E, 1985. "The New Economics of Labor Migration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(2), pages 173-178, May.
    4. Ronald D. Lee & Karen L. Kramer, 2002. "Children's Economic Roles in the Maya Family Life Cycle: Cain, Caldwell, and Chayanov Revisited," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 28(3), pages 475-499, September.
    5. Oded Stark, 1991. "The Migration of Labor," Blackwell Books, Wiley Blackwell, number 1557860300, April.
    6. Larry A. Sjaastad, 1970. "The Costs and Returns of Human Migration," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Harry W. Richardson (ed.), Regional Economics, chapter 9, pages 115-133, Palgrave Macmillan.
    7. Pratikshya Bohra-Mishra & Douglas Massey, 2011. "Individual Decisions to Migrate During Civil Conflict," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(2), pages 401-424, May.
    8. Fields, Gary S, 1976. "Labor Force Migration, Unemployment and Job Turnover," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 58(4), pages 407-415, November.
    9. Paul Collier & V. L. Elliott & Håvard Hegre & Anke Hoeffler & Marta Reynal-Querol & Nicholas Sambanis, 2003. "Breaking the Conflict Trap : Civil War and Development Policy," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 13938.
    10. Dasgupta, Susmita & Deichmann, Uwe & Meisner, Craig & Wheeler, David, 2005. "Where is the Poverty-Environment Nexus? Evidence from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 617-638, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Somjet Srikanok & Daniel M Parker & Amber L Parker & Tracey Lee & Aung Myat Min & Pranee Ontuwong & Saw Oo Tan & Supachai Sirinonthachai & Rose McGready, 2017. "Empirical lessons regarding contraception in a protracted refugee setting: A descriptive study from Maela camp on the Thai-Myanmar border 1996 – 2015," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(2), pages 1-15, February.

    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. Akasaka, Shintaro, 2016. "Macro determinants of Migration: Review and Analysis," MPRA Paper 106509, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2016.
    2. Zakiyyah, Varachia, 2018. "Review and Analysis of Macro Determinants of Migration," MPRA Paper 106445, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2018.
    3. Elena Vitalievna, Lebedeva, 2007. "Determinants of International Migration and Remittances," MPRA Paper 104789, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2007.
    4. Les Christidis, Les Christidis, 2005. "Theorizing and Conceptualizing of Migration," MPRA Paper 105238, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2005.
    5. Daniel Rauhut & Birgit Aigner-Walder & Rahel M. Schomaker, 2023. "Economic Theory and Migration," Springer Books, in: The Economics of Immigration Beyond the Cities, chapter 0, pages 21-50, Springer.
    6. Chrząstowska, Bożena, 2006. "Determinants of International Migration: A Study of Dual Countries Perspectives," MPRA Paper 104689, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2006.
    7. Yilmaz, Binhan Elif, 2004. "The Determinants of Migration: A Study of Sending and Destination Perspective," MPRA Paper 104552, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Barbarito, Antonella, 2005. "The Determinants of Migration: A Theorizing and Conceptualizing of Policy Issues in Perspective of Sending and Destination Effects," MPRA Paper 104469, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2005.
    9. Michael, Owiso, 2005. "Conceptualizing Determinants of Migration," MPRA Paper 104986, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2005.
    10. Behnaz, Flippo, 2008. "Conceptualizing Determinants of International Migration and Remittances," MPRA Paper 104915, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2008.
    11. Laila Touhami Morghem & Khawlah Ali Abdalla Spetan, 2020. "Determinants of International Migration: An Applied Study on Selected Arab Countries (1995-2017)," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(2), pages 6-19.
    12. Ana María Ibá-ez, 2014. "Growth in forced displacement: cross-country, sub-national and household evidence on potential determinants," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.), International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, chapter 13, pages 350-387, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Robalino, Juan & Jimenez, José & Chacón, Adriana, 2015. "The Effect of Hydro-Meteorological Emergencies on Internal Migration," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 438-448.
    14. 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).
    15. Hagen-Zanker, Jessica, 2010. "Modest expectations: Causes and effects of migration on migrant households in source countries," MPRA Paper 29507, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Chakra P. Acharya & Roberto Leon-Gonzalez, 2016. "International Remittances, Rural-Urban Migration, and the Quest for Quality Education: The Case of Nepal," GRIPS Discussion Papers 15-25, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
    17. Mario Sanchez, 2003. "Internal Migration, Return Migration, and Mortality. Evidence from Panel Data on Union Army Veterans," NBER Chapters, in: Health and Labor Force Participation over the Life Cycle: Evidence from the Past, pages 203-230, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Éric Rougier & Nicolas Yol, 2019. "The volatility effect of diaspora's location," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(6), pages 1796-1827, June.
    19. Kerilyn Schewel & Sonja Fransen, 2018. "Formal Education and Migration Aspirations in Ethiopia," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 44(3), pages 555-587, September.
    20. Otrachshenko, Vladimir & Popova, Olga, 2014. "Life (dis)satisfaction and the intention to migrate: Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 40-49.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    agriculture; household; Thailand; out-migration; consumer-producer (C/P) ratios;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

    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:dem:demres:v:30:y:2014:i:39. 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: Editorial Office (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/ .

    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.