Intergenerational Relations in a Context of Industrial Transition: A Study of Agricultural Labor from Migrants in Nang Rong, Thailand

Abstract

This work investigates intergenerational relations in a rural setting experiencing the transition from rural subsistence to urban industrial economy. Help with harvesting rice from migrant children to their aging parents is used to illustrate changes that occur. The setting is Nang Rong, Thailand, an agricultural region that has experienced social, economic, and demographic transformations in the last three decades. In Nang Rong, out-migrants are young adults. Their parents, who remain in rural villages, are approaching ages where it becomes difficult to do agricultural labor. The migration of young adults contributes to a loss of household labor which puts pressure on households to meet their basic subsistence needs. Rice harvest help from returning or visiting migrants impacts intergenerational relations between adult children and parents. Results show that migrants are more likely to help with the rice harvest if their origin household owns securely titled land, and if the migrant has lower human capital achievements. Parents may use land as a strategic bequest to elicit support, which is consistent with an intergenerational bargaining perspective.

Return Migration and the Health of Older Aged Parents: Evidence From Rural Thailand

“…Given the added mobility that adult children of older people now enjoy in some developing societies, one potential response would be to return to the home or village of an older adult during a time of need, for instance, when the health of a parent deteriorates. This notion concurs with theoretical arguments concerning family altruism that suggest needs of parents exert an influence on the behavior of their children (Giles & Mu, 2007;Hermalin, 2002;Lee, Parish, & Willis, 1994;Piotrowski, 2007;Zimmer & Kwong, 2003). The altruistic perspective recognizes that family members do not act independently of each other and even sometimes act as a single unit and thus some characteristics of the children, such as being married, could discourage return migration, whereas other factors related to support needs, such as the absence of other children living in close proximity to the older parent, could further entice these acts.…”

The Rise and Prominence of Skip‐Generation Households in Lower‐ and Middle‐Income Countries

“…Institutionalizing support services and schemes for grandparent caregivers may also improve well-being for both generations (Lam et al 2013). Implications of skip-generation households on the loss of rural labor, poverty and increased financial vulnerabilities, particularly in the poorest parts of the world, must also be better understood so adequate policies and social schemes can successfully address these susceptibilities (Piotrowski 2007, Gupta, Pattillo, and Wagh 2009, Adams and Page 2005, Zimmer and Das 2014.…”

Sibling Influences on Migrant Remittances, Evidence from Nang Rong, Thailand

“…All three describe exchanges within households or between former household members. These perspectives include the altruism and corporate group model, the power and bargaining model, and the mutual aid model (Lee et al 1994;Piotrowski 2008a;Zimmer and Kwong 2003).…”