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Abstract
Out migration from rural areas is increasingly becoming a strategy to get out of poverty. While
rice–based agriculture remains to be the backbone in Southeast Asia, majority of the farming
households particularly those who produce rice under rainfed conditions remain poor and
insecure. This paper examines the relationship between migration and other socio-economic
factors on household income using data from 1,874 rice sample farming households in Vietnam
(north and south), Thailand (northeast) and Philippines (Luzon island). In the Philippines,
remittances contribute about 60 per cent of household income of recipient families. In Thailand
and Vietnam, of the total household income, about 40 per cent are from remittances.
International migration is most prevalent in the Philippines while rural to urban migration is
more prevalent in Thailand and Vietnam due to rapid urbanization and industrialization as well
as improved transport and communication networks. Migration has a positive and significant
relationship on household income. Remittances both from internal and international migration
are predominantly used to meet daily expenses including food, farm (inputs and payment of
hired laborers) and children’s education. Given the stability and reliability of the flow or
remittances, they play a significant role in consumption smoothing for the poor. Remittances
partake the nature of insurance for use at times of need and ease credit constraints for
investments in agriculture. Those who are left behind, the elderly and the women, manage to
maintain rice yields at par with those households without migrants.