Migration and Networks: Unpacking the Processes of Migrant Social Capital Diffusion

Walker Frahm, University of Washington
Sara Curran, University of Washington

What role do social networks play in migration? More specifically, how do past and potential migrants exchange information and resources through their social networks; and which networks are most important for this transmission of migrant social capital? Do social networks passively facilitate the spread of information and resources, or can migration decisions themselves play a role in restructuring certain types of networks? And finally, what is the role of central actors in this diffusion process? Multi-level, longitudinal data from 22 rural Thai villages are used to address these questions regarding the interplay between social networks and migration, thereby more carefully specifying the effect of mezzo-level structural factors upon individual migration decisions and the consequent macro-level results of the cumulative processes of migration.