In 2017, Rapid Asia conducted a study on behalf of ILO and IOM to obtain a better understanding of the factors that shape migration outcomes in Southeast Asia. The study interviewed over 1800 returnee migrant workers from Cambodia, Viet Nam, Lao PDR and Myanmar who had been employed in Thailand or Malaysia. The findings are published in the report Risks and rewards: Outcomes of labour migration in South-East Asia released for International Migrants Day on 18 December 2017. A Migration Outcomes Index (MOI) was developed for this study to measure changes in the lives of migrant workers from before to after their migration. The Index broadens the way migration outcomes are measured by incorporating both social and economic elements. It represents a break not only from the narrow focus on counting remittances but also from the human trafficking paradigm that has been very dominant in SE Asia.