The Determinants of Irregular Migration of Myanmar Workers to Thailand

Abstract

Irregular migration imposes a threat to national security, undermines economic development and society’s rule of law, and increases the risk and vulnerability of migrant workers. Most research combines irregular migration with regular migration because the two phenomena are interwoven and because of the hidden nature and unreliable estimation of the data on irregular migration. Therefore, there is a lack of a widely-acceptable theoretical framework for studying irregular migration.

This article proposes a conceptual framework for the determinants of irregular migration and provides policy recommendations to address this problem. Drawing on in-depth interview data from irregular migrant workers, employers, government officials, labor rights activists, native workers, international migration experts, politicians, and academics regarding the irregular migration of Myanmar workers into Thailand, the author suggests that the determinants of irregular migration need to incorporate not only the long list of factors from traditional international migration theories but also other sets of factors such as deterrence factors, social norms, individual attitudes, and government policies.