Migrant Remittances and Skipped Generation Households: Investigating the Exchange Motive Using Evidence from Nang Rong, Thailand

Abstract

Using data from the Nang Rong projects social survey (N=6,801 households) and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, I examine the relationship between migrant remittances and the skipped generation household structure. I find that the skipped generation household is a significant determinant of in-kind remittances and the amount of remittances received by the household. Surprisingly, although qualitative data suggest that grandparents living in skipped generation households provide childcare for the children of absent migrants, quantitative evidence reveals that these households receive lower remittance amounts than other households. This suggests that although an exchange motivation may be overlooked in the remittance literature, it does not apply to migrant remittances as it does in the broader literature on inter vivos intergenerational transfers.