According to Ch'en Ta, author of the book Nanyang Overseas Chinese and Fukienese & Cantonese Society, a 1939 survey of 905 overseas Chinese households from the Swatow area of Kwangtung province found that 70 % gave simply making ends meet as their reason for going abroad, while 20 % mentioned family ties and only 30 % gave reasons such as setting up a new business.
根據「南洋華僑與閩粵社會」一書的作者陳達，於民國廿八年調查廣東省汕頭市附近九百零五戶華僑家庭，得到移住原因的答案中，因生活所迫者佔七成、血緣關係而移住者佔二成，其他原因如創業者僅佔百分之三。