Determinants of intra-ASEAN labour migration to Thailand

Abstract

This paper aims at analyzing the determinants of intra-ASEAN labor migration to Thailand, for the period 2002-2010. We apply the well-known Hatton's migration model to our analysis. Having employed panel data through fixed effect model estimations, we find that the GDP gaps between Thailand and the migrant countries, migration stocks which reflect the existence of immigrant networks, and Thailand's migration worker policy all play a crucial role in explaining migration behaviors. A policy implication is that the government of Thailand should pay more attention to its coherent migration worker policy, since it affects the net migration rate, evidently.