Will ASEAN mutual recognition arrangements induce skilled workers to move? A case study of the engineering labor market in Thailand

Sasiwimon Paweenawat and Jessica Vechbanyongratana

Chapter 9 in Skilled Labor Mobility and Migration, 2019, pp 241-266 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter assesses the potential impact of one of ASEAN’s mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) on Thailand’s engineering market. Utilizing data from Thai Labor Force Surveys, regression analysis estimates the probability of Thai engineers engaging in formal employment, and relative wage returns to engineering education and occupations in Thailand. Results show that only one-third of Thai engineering degree holders and only 10 percent in engineering occupations are informally employed. Furthermore, relative wage returns to engineering degrees/jobs is high compared to other degree/job fields, including a 42 percent premium for engineering graduates who match with engineering jobs. Given Thailand’s current labor market conditions and the limited impact of MRAs on reducing migration costs, there is little impetus for most Thai engineers to move to work in other ASEAN countries. However, engineers from the other ASEAN countries might consider working in Thailand, possibly leading to greater competition in the Thai labor market.

Keywords: Asian Studies; Economics and Finance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781788116169/9781788116169.00016.xml (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:18164_9

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Darrel McCalla ().