ISAS Working Papers

This paper revisits the assumed economic advantage of temporary labour migration. The widely shared sentiment that temporary migration brings about economic advantage for migrants and their families often is a function of income differentials between two countries. This study argues that opportunity for temporary employment in a high income country does not necessarily translate into economic advantage for every individual migrant and his or her family in a low income country. This study addresses the undercurrent of risks in the international labour migration process and its implications on family economics. This study draws from the experiences of Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia. It reports that migrants often undertake international migration at great costs of their own, incurring large debts, risking personal savings and family assets, and accentuating income risks and capital constraints, while the remittances are meagre in the repair of such family economics.