From Left-Behind Children to Youth Labor Migrants: The Impact of Household Networks, Gendered Migration, and Relay Migration in Southeast Asia

Do children with migrant parents or migrant family members have a greater likelihood of migration as they reach adulthood? Three possible patterns of youth migration are examined in this study: (1) network migration, when families migrating first pave the way for subsequent generations to follow; (2) gendered migration, where the gender of migrant parents and left-behind children influences the probability of youth migration; and (3) relay migration, which involves transgenerational migration switching within a family. We use data collected from Thailand in 2008/2010 (Wave 1) and tracked in 2019 (Wave 2) to understand how the migration of parents and other family members influenced youth migration in 2019. Within the network effect, household migration was one of the driving forces behind youth migration, while mother-involved migration appeared to be strongly associated with youth labor migration, especially among males. There is, however, no evidence that return migration, whether parental or non-parental in the same household, was associated with an increased likelihood of youth labor migration. This study demonstrates the relative strength of network effects of household migration when compared to relay migration on youth migration. The findings also highlight the complexity of gender-based migration in the Thai context. This research contributes to the larger field of left-behind children and youth migration by establishing the transition between these two roles and illustrating different reasons for migration in sending countries.