Migrant Worker Remittances to Burma

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Description: Abstract: "This paper presents the findings of a research study that investigated the level of education that the children of labor migrants from Burma now living in Chiang Mai, Thailand can access to as well as looking at the possibility and different channels for their further education should their parents decide to return to Burma. The focus of the study concentrates on four different ethnic groups, Karen, Karenni, Palaung and Shan by looking at children from the age between 4-13 years old to identify factors that are involved when these migrant children move back to Burma. At the same time, for many children who spent most of their lives in Thailand, it is interesting to see the possibilities and challenges for them in relating to accessing to education since Burma is a new home for many of them. Therefore, it is also interesting to see how the Burma government as well as the Thai education system will respond to this issue of educational development in the changing economic and democratic processes of these countries.".....Paper delivered at the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015.
Creator/author: Sutthida Keereepaibool
Source/publisher: International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015
2015-07-26
Date of entry/update: 2015-08-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 56.1 KB
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Description: "...It is clear that remittances send to Burma are both intended and utilised for the daily survival of migrant sending families. Studies of remittance use by families in Burma show that the majority of money received is spent on daily living expenses, followed by expenditure on housing, education and health.37 This demonstrates the intensity of poverty within Burma and the dependency on migrant families for remittances to sustain basic survival. Additionally one study found that a significant proportion of migrant-sending families in Burma (over a third of those in the study) also used remittance funds for coerced payment to security officers including military and police, demonstrating the state of insecurity and violation that families in Burma continue to live with.38 The studies found that the majority of families in Burma were not able to use the remittance money for income generating activities or investments, either because there was insufficient money left over after spending on daily needs, or due to the fact that there are limited opportunities for productive investment due to weak infrastructure and wide-spread poverty within sending communities.39 It appears that despite migration and remittance sending over a period from three to ten years there has been no significant industry, income generation or economic improvements within the villages and home communities of Burmese migrants in Thailand.40 These studies suggest that any local or national economic development benefit derived from remittances are largely absent in the Burma context due to the political economy which undermines these processes..."
Source/publisher: CARAM-Asia (Coordination of Action Research on AIDS & Mobility)
2010-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 311.88 KB 7.58 MB
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Description: Abstract" In recent years great interest has awakened in the question of migrant remittances. A phenomenon hitherto regarded as of little consequence, the potential for remittances to act as a means for poverty alleviation and economic development has increasingly come to enjoy a broad consensus. In the light of this, and the recognition that for many developing countries remittances constitute a larger and more stable source of foreign exchange than either trade, investment or aid, a vast and growing literature on the topic has emerged. However, and notwithstanding this broad interest, there is yet to appear any major study with respect to the question of migrant remittances to Burma. This paper seeks to at least partially redress this void by examining the extent, nature and pattern of remittances made by Burmese migrant workers in Thailand. Drawing upon a survey of such workers conducted by the authors, we find that remittances to Burma are large, disproportionately used to ensure simple survival, and are overwhelmingly realised via informal mechanisms. The latter attributes are a direct consequence of Burma?s dysfunctional economy, which sadly also severely limits the gains to the country that remittances might otherwise bring..... JEL Classification: O16, P34, Q14..... Keywords: Remittances, Burma, Migration, Development Finance.
Creator/author: Sean Turnell, Alison Vicary, Wylie Bradford
Source/publisher: Burma Economic Watch/Economics Department Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
2008-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-11-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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