FAMILY MIGRATION IN A DEVELOPING-COUNTRY

A family model of migration is developed and empirically tested by using longitudinal data for respondents living in Ilocos Norte Province, Philippines. Based on the framework of a family-migration system, family migration is assumed to depend on the character of linkage to the migration system, family household structure, socio-economic resources, family pressure to migrate, family/kin ties to place of origin, and previous mobility experience of family members. Family-migration behaviour is specified as migration of some (one or more) family members, or of the entire family. The findings support the importance of linkage to a family-migration system by way of remittances and the previous mobility experience of family members in the prediction of both types of family migration. Migration of some family members is also predicted by fewer parcels of land owned, higher levels of education, larger household size, and an early life-course stage. Family pressure to migrate, indicating the interactional context of the family, is important for the migration of entire families. It is concluded that the framework used and results presented help explain how migration becomes an institutionalized reality of family life in many developing countries. © 1991 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.