Migratory outcomes across localities and generations in Kupang, Indonesia

Abstract

This study explores the outcomes of internal migration in Indonesia, specifically focusing on the intersecting themes of ethnicity, informality, and entrepreneurial migration. We examine how Javanese migrants perceive the benefits and challenges of their migration and subsequent engagement in the informal sector as self-employed migrants/small business owners in and around Kupang’s traditional markets. We use a sequential mixed-methods approach (a household survey with a structured interview [n=344] and in-depth/semi-structured interviews [n=28] in 2020). Drawing on Hein de Haas’s framework on the internal dynamics of migration, we explore the multifaceted outcomes of entrepreneurial migration beyond the economic consequences addressed in similar studies. The perceived positive impacts of this migration include sufficient income to cover daily needs and children’s education, as well as new remittances and employment opportunities for communities in Java and Kupang. However, these broadly empowering trends were set against the experience of those migrants who, because of less informal sector labour experience, could not easily negotiate their settlement in a new host environment, leading to varied adverse consequences. Ultimately, then, the article highlights the importance of social networks, knowledge, and reciprocity in supporting the successful establishment of entrepreneurial migrants in emerging destinations.