Socio-Religious Institutions and Economic Migration: Case Study of the Bai Clansmen from Anxi, Fujian in Southeast Asia, c. 1880-present

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DRI Working Paper
by Kwee Hui Kian

Spanning over 24 generations, the descendants of Bai Yingshun have dispersed all over southeast Asia away from their homeland, the Chinese city of Longmen. Thousands of miles away from Longmen, the Bai maintain a strong sense of the identity of their forefathers in a way that has affected their economic outcomes. The story of the Bai suggests that, even outside the nation-state, an informal institution like an ethnic group can be a powerful force in shaping one's economic well-being.