The Impact of International Migrant Workers on Household Income and Expenditure

International migration and remittances are the most important factors affecting economic development and poverty reduction because remittances to hometowns become the main source of capital for local economic activities, in order to generate income and smooth consumption. On the other hand, this capital is also for the household’s direct consumption, improving the living conditions of families, as well as favourably impacting on poverty reduction in the least developed countries. This study of the impact of migration from Champasak province, Lao PDR to the Kingdom of Thailand aims to 1) identify and investigate the causes of worker migration to the Kingdom of Thailand, and 2) consider the impact of such worker migration on Lao household income and expenditure in households where migrant workers remit monies to families in Champasak and Phonthong Districts. This study consisted of 366 households including 248 migration households and 118 non-migration households, selected through stratified random sampling. Household heads responded to questionnaires November to December, 2014. The result shows the reasons for Lao migration worker to the Kingdom of Thailand were: unemployment, higher wage in Thailand, seeking new experiences and household’s lack of basic need. Migration to the Kingdom of Thailand had positive effects on the house hold incomes. This research found that Lao worker migration to the Kingdom of Thailand resulted in positive effect on household incomes in Champasak District with remittances causing incomes to increase 59.12 percent: however, expenditure was negatively impacted with level of significance at 0.05. The effect on expenditure in Phonthong District was positive. It takes 33.88 percentages with level of significance at 0.1. In summary, research results indicate that international worker migration and consequent remittances can increase household incomes while reducing poverty in rural areas. Hence it seems that, under Lao labour laws, a public sector policy should promote the practical skills and legal worker migration should be a taken into consideration.