Written by Mekong Institute

Labor migration has become a very important way of life for the Myanmar people living in rural areas, since 1990. This paper investigates the causes of migration and to what extent the economic  well-being  of  migrant-sending  households  has  improved  after  migration.  Data  for the  analysis  was  drawn  from  the  author s  survey  and  interviews  conducted  in  Mon  State, Myanmar.  The  data  reveals  that  unemployment  and  low  income  are  two  of  the  factors causing  the  migration.  The  analysis  compares  household  assets  before  and  after  migration, and  investigates  the  perception  of  change  in  economic  well-being  and  level  of  poverty  as compared to five years ago, prior to the migration of a household member. The data reveals that  remittances  can  significantly  increase  the  total income  of  migrant-sending  households.  However,  such  households  cannot  solely  depend  on  remittances  to  improve  economic  well- being.  The  economic  well-being  of  households  with  more  than  one  source  of  income  has improved significantly when compared to five years ago.