The Dual Employment Destinations for Rural Cambodians: Skills, Distance and Non-Monetary Returns on Migration

Abstract

This paper applies the dual labour market migration concept to Cambodia and Thailand. We examine the migration patterns of 9066 individuals from 2507 households in rural Northwest Cambodia, distinguishing between internal migration within Cambodia and international migration to Thailand. We find that individuals from households with fewer resources, such as education, income, and land ownership, tend to migrate to Thailand, while those with more resources prefer internal migration within Cambodia. To deepen our contextual analysis of large-scale census data, we utilise 122 photos and stories related to the census data collection. Our findings indicate that members of low-resource households prioritise work in Thailand because it is geographically closer than the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh; it offers relatively higher monetary returns (around USD$12/day vs. $7.5/day in Cambodia); and migration is enabled by leaving children in Cambodia to be raised by grandparents. In contrast, members of high-resource households prioritise internal migration because Thai language requirements exclude them from primary labour sector jobs in Thailand, they can access family and manage care of children more easily, and they are able to maintain their social status and social networks. This research shows how physical and social distance interact with non-monetary factors and skill-based dual labour markets to generate complex patterns of migration both across and within national borders in Southeast Asia.