Most Burmese people fleeing their homes do so for a combination of reasons. The root causes for leaving, however, determine which ‘category? they belong to: ‘internally displaced persons? (IDPs) or ‘economic migrants?. There is some discussion as to whether people leaving their homes due to exhaustion of livelihoods options are IDPs according to the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement1 – or not. Ashley South and Andrew Bosson present their views below...