Editiorial introduction: labour migration and the family in Asia

This paper introduces a special issue on ‘Labour migration and the family in Asia’. It provides a brief review of economic approaches to labour migration, including some studies that have recognised the importance of the family in migration decision‐making. Most of this work continues to be based on a broad human capital framework and we highlight some of the limitations of such a theoretical model, including their failure to deal adequately with gender roles or the deeper structures that influence migration, such as globalisation, colonialism and national and local government policies. We also consider the importance of remittances in family‐related labour migration and their value in developing economies. In summary this paper, and the other papers selected for the special issue, contribute to the debate about the limitations of the human capital model, and help us to understand labour migration and the family in the Asian context.