Repeat migration and remittances: Evidence from Thai migrant workers

Although there is a growing body of literature on repeat migration in the Americas and Europe, no empirical evidence exists in Asia. This paper examines the remittances and savings behavior of repeat migrants, using a special survey on Thai migrants in six major destination countries, conducted by the Asian Research Center for Migration (ARCM) at Chulalongkorn University. The results show that repeated migrants are a highly specific group. Males are more likely to repeat migration, compared with their female counterparts. Repeat migration is strongly correlated with age, which shows an inverted U-shape. Repeat migrants are less likely to send remittances, but more likely to save, compared with first-time migrants. This finding is consistent with the notion that first-time migrant workers remit most of their earned income to Thailand, while those who repeat migration prefer to keep their money rather than remitting it. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.