How does leaving home affect marital timing? An event-history analysis of migration and marriage in Nang Rong, Thailand

Abstract

This study examines the effects of migration on marital timing in Thailand between 1984 and 2000 using prospective and retrospective survey data from Nang Rong. In contrast to previous results in the literature, event-history analysis of the longitudinal data reveals a positive, not a negative, effect of lagged migration experience on the likelihood of marriage. The findings also indicate gender differences. Migration's positive impact is independent of other life events for women but is completely "explained" by employment for men.