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The long-term, indirect effects of war on older adult health are poorly understood, especially in less developed societies where armed conflict concentrates. In this paper we analyse the determinants of self-reported health, chronic conditions, somatoform symptoms and depressive symptoms in a sample of northern Vietnamese ages 55 and older, who encountered mass mobilization for war and widespread exposure to war traumas in early adulthood. Results of multivariate models indicate that service in combat roles predicts poor self-reported health, health complaints and chronic illness in late adulthood. No such relationship is observed for depressive symptoms, a pattern consistent with previous research indicating somatic symptom complaints are more common than psychological symptoms in nonwestern, low-income countries. The relationship between combatant status and ill health is mediated by exposure to particular wartime traumas, in particular involvement in killing/wounding others and suffering exposure to toxic substances. These results convey war's underappreciated long-term health consequences.

AbstractIn this study, we assess how the composition of migrant workers varies with migration prevalence within Filipino communities. Specifically, we test the hypothesis of past cumulative causation scholars that increased migration prevalence results in a decline in migrant selectivity. The Philippines has a social, political and geographical context that differs from that of many other countries characterized by high migration. In this study, we consider whether these different contexts and contingencies might alter the process by which the social phenomenon of cumulative causation occurs. Multiple fixed‐effects models were estimated at the municipality level, with the dependent variable in each model being a demographic characteristic related to the propensity to migrate: marital status, age, sex and years of education. We find, consistent with cumulative causation theory as posited by Douglas S. Massey, that increased migration prevalence did yield a decline in selectivity for education and marital status. However, migration prevalence had no effect on the gender composition of migrants, while time did impact the gender composition, suggesting sustained selectivity by gender attributable to global demand for specifically gendered, migrant labour.

We examine the utilization of remittances for expenditures associated with development, specifically children's education. We use household-level data from the Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS II, 2003–04) to separate remittance effects from general household income effects to demonstrate the migration–development relationship reflected in child schooling investment. We find that family-household remittances are spent on education of children, but the expenditures are disproportionately for boys' schooling. Only when girls are members of higher-income households do greater schooling expenditures go to them. This gender-discriminating pattern at the household level contrasts with the call for universal and gender-equal education.

War is considered one of the most intransigent obstacles to development; yet, the long-run effects of war on individual health have rarely been examined in the context of developing countries. Based on unique data recently collected as a pilot follow-up to the Vietnam Longitudinal Survey, this study examines health status of northern Vietnamese war cohorts (those who entered adulthood during the Vietnam War and now represent Vietnam's older-adult population). To ascertain whether and how war impacts old-age physical and mental health, we compare multi-dimensional measures of health among war survivors, including civilians, combatants, noncombatants, and nonveterans involved in militia activities. Multivariate results suggest that despite prolonged exposure to war and trauma, combat and noncombat veterans are not significantly different from their civilian counterparts in terms of self-rated, functional, and mental health in older adult years. That we do not observe war's adverse effects for veterans might be explained by the encompassing extent of war in northern Vietnamese society.

This paper is based on a case study of female migrants working in construction-the second largest industry in India and one which employs almost 30 million people, approximately 30 percent of which are women, many of them migrants. In this paper, we extend beyond an empirical description of female migrant workers in the field of construction, considering the subjective and nuanced realities linked to women's lived experiences as migrants. The study is based on interviews of 110 female construction workers who have migrated from various regions of India to the city of Delhi. An in-depth, qualitative exploration of these women's lives and perceptions captures some of the more latent risks and rewards associated with both migration and work in the informal sector. Specifically, the results shed light on how strong societal norms may actually prevent women from acknowledging or articulating the true reasons for their migrations.

In this volume, we examine the challenges and opportunities created by global migration at the start of the 21st century. Our focus extends beyond economic impact to questions of international law, human rights, and social and political incorporation. We examine immigrant outcomes and policy questions at the global, national, and local levels. Our primary purpose is to connect ethical, legal, and social science scholarship from a variety of disciplines in order to raise questions and generate new insights regarding patterns of migration and the design of useful policy. While the book incorpora.

This study examines the residential patterns of rural-urban migrants in Thailand. The analysis takes advantage of a rich dataset that followed migrants from rural Nang Rong, a district in the Isan region, to the Bangkok metropolitan area and the Eastern Seaboard. Findings document substantial residential clustering: almost half of the migrants interviewed in 2000 and 2001 lived in neighborhoods where 80 percent or more of their neighbors came from Isan. Migrants with less than a secondary education, those working in factory jobs, and those working with other migrants from Isan were more likely to be living in Isan-concentrated neighborhoods, net of other variables.

A unique longitudinal and prospective approach is used to analyze the social embeddedness of rural-urban Thai migrants and their subsequent migration. More than any one particular social tie, it is the configuration of social ties at multiple levels that influences whether migrants experience their destination as integrative and a place for settlement or not. Social ties at multiple levels and from multiple sources weave into a social fabric that surrounds migrants in destination contexts, shaping their migration trajectories. The findings show that urban-integrated migrants with diverse social support ties in the urban destination who reside in village enclaves and households that promote social adaptation and incorporation tend to be found again in urban destinations 6 years later. By comparison, semi-integrated and urban-isolated migrants whose social support ties, community structures, and households provide relatively weak links and support within the urban setting exhibit stronger tendencies to return to their villages of origin or to migrate onward from their initial destination. The findings suggest that migrants' mobility pathways-whether they settle in their current destination, return to their villages of origin, or make additional movements onward—depend on the organization of urban social relations and migrants' positions therein.