Bangladeshi workers in Singapore: A sociological study of temporary labor migration

Abstract

This thesis examines Bangladeshi temporary labor migration to Singapore. Research on labour migration has experienced an excessive domination by economic explanation during the last several decades. Econometric analysis has been such a dominant factor in the studies of international labour migration that the very language of analysis tends to marginalize social or cultural factors. In particular, the thesis explores the factors that motivate Bangladeshi workers to migrate and the consequences of labor migration for the migrants and their families. This thesis reveals that we need to extend the classical migration approaches and concepts, which is only possible if the whole migration process is scrutinized and the data collected contextualized. The thesis shows that mobility in times of global restructuring can only sufficiently be explained and understood if migration processes in their complexities are researched. The data comes from fieldwork in Singapore and selected village studies in Bangladesh.