Labour Migration from Nepal: Trends and Explanations

Abstract

This chapter argues that a combined impact of both global and national political economies has propelled out-migration in the last two centuries in Nepal, which also calls for revisiting migration theories. In the past, Nepal’s out-migration was linked to British colonial interest to expand territory under its control. National governments at that time also created conditions – for their own political interests – that forced people to work for the British expansionist interest. This forced migration led to circumstances creating networks for other types of migration. Even at present, Nepal’s high level of migration for long-term contract work in other countries, especially to Malaysia and Gulf countries, are linked to the migration drivers that are rooted in present political-economic situation like conflict, climate change, disasters, and global forces that make local livelihood opportunities like farming precarious. On the other hand, livelihoods supported by migration and remittances further beget more migration. This situation means that traditional labour migration theories that give more attention to differences in wage rates or economic circumstances in different geographical locations need to be revisited. Networks among the migrating families or individuals and trans-national families, institutions and policies, and perceived status that come from migration explain why migration is continuing. This paper also reveals that a single theory cannot explain migration from Nepal as a whole because of different types of migration to different destination.