Does migration make financial sense? The case of domestic workers from Vietnam to Taiwan
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
ISSN: 0144-333X
Article publication date: 12 October 2015
Abstract
Purpose
Adopting a view that migration is an investment, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the risk-adjusted returns that migrant domestic workers from Vietnam to Taiwan can expect to earn.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analyses data obtained through interviews of a sample of migrant domestic workers, all from Phu Tho in the north of Vietnam, who had migrated to Taiwan.
Findings
The study found that migrants were driven strongly by financial motivations. Analysis of the typical costs of migrating, wages in the host country, average length of stay and especially, uncertainties affecting the length of stay, found that the investment in migration is a highly risky one for migrants. In most cases, migration does not pay.
Research limitations/implications
Estimates of costs and benefits can be improved with larger samples of respondents and data sources that can help validate the interviews.
Practical implications
There is a need to improve financial literacy among migrants to help them better assess their investment in migration.
Social implications
This paper highlights the inequity in risk allocation in the context of migration.
Originality/value
To the knowledge, there is no research of the financial costs and benefits of migration as domestic workers, especially from Vietnam to Taiwan.
Keywords
Citation
Phuong, N.Q. and Venkatesh, S. (2015), "Does migration make financial sense? The case of domestic workers from Vietnam to Taiwan", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 35 No. 11/12, pp. 722-737. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-10-2014-0080
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited