Paper Title
HOUSEHOLD AND COMMUNITY ECONOMIES IN THE NORTHEAST OF THAILAND WITH TRANSNATIONAL FAMILIES
Abstract
Abstract - This article aims to present the economic status of communities where transnational families live in the Northeast, covering Khon Kaen and Udon Thani provinces; a mixed method was adopted in this research. It consists of a qualitative approach using an in-depth interview with the informants who were selected with the interview guidelines. The key informants consisted of 20 representatives of families living in the communities with transnational families and a group of 10 knowledgeable persons. The structured interview schedule was used as a quantitative research tool to collect data from a sample of 400 people, which are citizens or representative households.
The results of the study found that transnational families have three living patterns: Thai wives living together with foreign spouses in Thailand, Thai wives living alone in Thailand, and migration to live together in the destination country of Thai women marrying foreign men. These types reflect two forms of family relationships among transnational couples: the family relationship of cross-cultural married couples living in different areas and the family relationship of cross-cultural married couples. Both groups support and assist families in the woman's country of origin in various ways. There are various forms of capital expansion in the form of money, land, and various assets such as cars, houses, land, and restaurant business. This has caused a huge change in the socioeconomic status of Thai women and their families. Regarding the economic status of the household and community where transnational families live, it was found that the average annual income of most families in the community was 100,001 – 500,000 baht, which is in a similar proportion. It was also found that households in communities with transnational families reside moderately involved in the management of community capital and resources, accounting for 47%. Cultural capital management is mostly found among them.
Keywords - Migrant Family Economic Status, Capital Management, Community