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Adult child migration and elderly parental health in rural China

Author

Listed:
  • Fang Chang
  • Yaojiang Shi
  • Hongmei Yi
  • Natalie Johnson

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of adult children migration on the health status of elderly parents. Increased labor migration in developing countries that lack adequate social security systems and institutionalized care for the elderly is a phenomenon that is important to understand. When their adult children go away to work, it is not clear what effect there will be on “left-behind” elderly parents. Design/methodology/approach - This study employs nearly nationally representative data from five provinces, 25 counties, 101 villages and 2,000 households, collected from two waves of data in 2007 and 2011. This sample comprises a subset of households which include both elderly individuals (above 60 years old) and their grown (working-aged) children in order to estimate the impact of adult child migration on the health of elderly parents in rural China. Findings - This study finds that adult child migration has a significant positive impact on the health of elderly family members. Practical implications - These findings are consistent with the explanation that migration raises family resources, which in turn may contribute to better health outcomes for elderly household members. Originality/value - This is the first paper to attempt to identify the relationship between household migration and the health of elderly parents within the Chinese context.

Suggested Citation

  • Fang Chang & Yaojiang Shi & Hongmei Yi & Natalie Johnson, 2016. "Adult child migration and elderly parental health in rural China," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(4), pages 677-697, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:caerpp:caer-11-2015-0169
    DOI: 10.1108/CAER-11-2015-0169
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Hien, Nguyen Thi Thu, 2019. "Consequences of urban migration of adult children for the elderly left-behind in rural Vietnam," OSF Preprints zxyf8, Center for Open Science.
    2. Tianxiang Li & Beibei Wu & Fujin Yi & Bin Wang & Tomas Baležentis, 2020. "What Happens to the Health of Elderly Parents When Adult Child Migration Splits Households? Evidence from Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-14, March.
    3. Xiao He & Furong Zhang & Hongdan Zhao & Jie Li, 2022. "How Migration in Later Life Shapes Their Quality of Life: A Qualitative Investigation of the Well-Being of the “Drifting Elderly” in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 909-933, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rural development; Health; Employment; labour use and migration; I13; J6; I3;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

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