At what costs? A proposal for estimating migration costs in the Bangladesh-Malaysia corridor

This article provides a comprehensive proposal to figure out the full spectrum of costs borne by Bangladeshi workers on their journey to Malaysia. The article proposes to consider the differences based on skill level, employment sector, immigration status, gender, traveling routes as well as channels and funding sources in order to determine the true economic cost of migration. The article also proposes to take social cost of migration into account. It sheds light on the effects of migration on migrant households with a view to fully comprehend the overall migration cost scenario. Finally, the paper suggests to take into consideration the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on broader migration and repatriation context.