IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/ifwkwp/1876.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Alone but better off? Adult child migration and health of elderly parents in Moldova

Author

Listed:
  • Böhme, Marcus
  • Persian, Ruth
  • Stöhr, Tobias

Abstract

Increasing labor migration and simultaneous aging of societies are two important demographic developments many poor countries face. Elderly people who are left behind may experience a decrease in welfare when their children migrate. This paper investigates the e ect of migration on various dimensions of elderly health using unique data from Moldova, which has one of the highest emigration rates in the world. We nd positive migration e ects on the body mass index (BMI), mobility and self-reported health. No e ects are found on depression and cognitive capacity. We trace these positive outcomes to an income e ect which leads to improvements in diet and a reallocation of time use from subsistence farming to leisure and sleep. These positive e ects seem to compensate the elderly for decreasing social contact with their migrant family members.

Suggested Citation

  • Böhme, Marcus & Persian, Ruth & Stöhr, Tobias, 2013. "Alone but better off? Adult child migration and health of elderly parents in Moldova," Kiel Working Papers 1876, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:1876
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/83982/1/769842429.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anderson, Michael L, 2008. "Multiple Inference and Gender Differences in the Effects of Early Intervention: A Reevaluation of the Abecedarian, Perry Preschool, and Early Training Projects," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series qt15n8j26f, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley.
    2. Harold Alderman & John Hoddinott & Bill Kinsey, 2006. "Long term consequences of early childhood malnutrition," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(3), pages 450-474, July.
    3. Kleibergen, Frank & Paap, Richard, 2006. "Generalized reduced rank tests using the singular value decomposition," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 133(1), pages 97-126, July.
    4. Francisca M. Antman, 2010. "Adult Child Migration and the Health of Elderly Parents Left behind in Mexico," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 205-208, May.
    5. Imai, Kosuke & Keele, Luke & Tingley, Dustin & Yamamoto, Teppei, 2011. "Unpacking the Black Box of Causality: Learning about Causal Mechanisms from Experimental and Observational Studies," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 105(4), pages 765-789, November.
    6. Chang, Hongqin & Dong, Xiao-yuan & MacPhail, Fiona, 2011. "Labor Migration and Time Use Patterns of the Left-behind Children and Elderly in Rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 2199-2210.
    7. Francisca M. Antman, 2012. "Elderly Care and Intrafamily Resource Allocation when Children Migrate," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 47(2), pages 331-363.
    8. Marcelo J. Moreira, 2003. "A Conditional Likelihood Ratio Test for Structural Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(4), pages 1027-1048, July.
    9. Duncan Thomas, 2008. "Psychological Health Before, During, and After an Economic Crisis: Results from Indonesia, 1993--2000," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 23(1), pages 57-76, November.
    10. Roger Newson & The ALSPAC Study Team, 2003. "Multiple-test procedures and smile plots," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 3(2), pages 109-132, June.
    11. John Gibson & David McKenzie & Steven Stillman, 2011. "The Impacts of International Migration on Remaining Household Members: Omnibus Results from a Migration Lottery Program," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(4), pages 1297-1318, November.
    12. Stock, James H & Wright, Jonathan H & Yogo, Motohiro, 2002. "A Survey of Weak Instruments and Weak Identification in Generalized Method of Moments," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 20(4), pages 518-529, October.
    13. Donald W. K. Andrews & Marcelo J. Moreira & James H. Stock, 2006. "Optimal Two-Sided Invariant Similar Tests for Instrumental Variables Regression," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(3), pages 715-752, May.
    14. Lloyd-Sherlock, Peter, 2000. "Old Age and Poverty in Developing Countries: New Policy Challenges," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 2157-2168, December.
    15. Abdurrahman Aydemir & George J. Borjas, 2011. "Attenuation Bias in Measuring the Wage Impact of Immigration," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(1), pages 69-113, January.
    16. Anderson, Michael L., 2008. "Multiple Inference and Gender Differences in the Effects of Early Intervention: A Reevaluation of the Abecedarian, Perry Preschool, and Early Training Projects," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 103(484), pages 1481-1495.
    17. Randall Kuhn & Bethany Everett & Rachel Silvey, 2011. "The Effects of Children’s Migration on Elderly Kin’s Health: A Counterfactual Approach," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(1), pages 183-209, February.
    18. Das, Jishnu & Hammer, Jeffrey & Sánchez-Paramo, Carolina, 2012. "The impact of recall periods on reported morbidity and health seeking behavior," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 76-88.
    19. Randall Akee, Devesh Kapur, 2012. "Remittances and Rashomon- Working Paper 285," Working Papers 285, Center for Global Development.
    20. Julianne Holt-Lunstad & Timothy B Smith & J Bradley Layton, 2010. "Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(7), pages 1-1, July.
    21. Moreira, Marcelo J., 2009. "Tests with correct size when instruments can be arbitrarily weak," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 152(2), pages 131-140, October.
    22. Mckenzie, David & Rapoport, Hillel, 2007. "Network effects and the dynamics of migration and inequality: Theory and evidence from Mexico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 1-24, September.
    23. Bhargava, Alok & Docquier, Frédéric & Moullan, Yasser, 2011. "Modeling the effects of physician emigration on human development," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 172-183, March.
    24. J. Vernon Henderson & Adam Storeygard & David N. Weil, 2012. "Measuring Economic Growth from Outer Space," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 994-1028, April.
    25. Jolliffe, Dean, 2011. "Overweight and poor? On the relationship between income and the body mass index," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 342-355.
    26. David J. McKenzie & Nicole Hildebrandt, 2005. "The Effects of Migration on Child Health in Mexico," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Fall 2005), pages 257-289, August.
    27. Rapoport, Hillel & Docquier, Frederic, 2006. "The Economics of Migrants' Remittances," Handbook on the Economics of Giving, Reciprocity and Altruism, in: S. Kolm & Jean Mercier Ythier (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Giving, Altruism and Reciprocity, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 17, pages 1135-1198, Elsevier.
    28. Zezza, Alberto & Carletto, Calogero & Davis, Benjamin & Winters, Paul, 2011. "Assessing the impact of migration on food and nutrition security," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 1-6, February.
    29. Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), 2013. "International Handbook on the Economics of Migration," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 4026.
    30. Grogger, Jeffrey & Hanson, Gordon H., 2011. "Income maximization and the selection and sorting of international migrants," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 42-57, May.
    31. Brian Silver, 1974. "The impact of urbanization and geographical dispersion on the linguistic russification of soviet nationalities," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 11(1), pages 89-103, February.
    32. Jishnu Das & Quy-Toan Do & Jed Friedman & David McKenzie, 2008. "Mental Health Patterns and Consequences: Results from Survey Data in Five Developing Countries," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 23(1), pages 31-55, August.
    33. Anna Mikusheva & Brian P. Poi, 2006. "Tests and confidence sets with correct size when instruments are potentially weak," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 6(3), pages 335-347, September.
    34. Grossman, Michael, 1972. "On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(2), pages 223-255, March-Apr.
    35. Douglas Staiger & James H. Stock, 1997. "Instrumental Variables Regression with Weak Instruments," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(3), pages 557-586, May.
    36. Lucas, Robert E B & Stark, Oded, 1985. "Motivations to Remit: Evidence from Botswana," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(5), pages 901-918, October.
    37. Dwyer, Debra Sabatini & Mitchell, Olivia S., 1999. "Health problems as determinants of retirement: Are self-rated measures endogenous?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 173-193, April.
    38. Barrientos, Armando & Gorman, Mark & Heslop, Amanda, 2003. "Old Age Poverty in Developing Countries: Contributions and Dependence in Later Life," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 555-570, March.
    39. Brenes-Camacho, Gilbert, 2011. "Favourable changes in economic well-being and self-rated health among the elderly," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(8), pages 1228-1235, April.
    40. Gibson, John & McKenzie, David & Stillman, Steven, 2011. "What happens to diet and child health when migration splits households? Evidence from a migration lottery program," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 7-15, February.
    41. Crossley, Thomas F. & Kennedy, Steven, 2002. "The reliability of self-assessed health status," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 643-658, July.
    42. Nguyen, Minh Cong & Winters, Paul, 2011. "The impact of migration on food consumption patterns: The case of Vietnam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 71-87, February.
    43. Murtagh, K.N. & Hubert, H.B., 2004. "Gender differences in physical disability among an elderly cohort," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(8), pages 1406-1411.
    44. Kaivan Munshi, 2003. "Networks in the Modern Economy: Mexican Migrants in the U. S. Labor Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(2), pages 549-599.
    45. Karamba, Wendy R. & Quiñones, Esteban J. & Winters, Paul, 2011. "Migration and food consumption patterns in Ghana," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 41-53, February.
    46. John Giles & Ren Mu, 2007. "Elderly parent health and the migration decisions of adult children: Evidence from rural China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(2), pages 265-288, May.
    47. Arber, Sara & Ginn, Jay, 1993. "Gender and inequalities in health in later life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 33-46, January.
    48. Stohr, Tobias, 2013. "Intra-family migration decisions and elderly left behind," Kiel Working Papers 1858, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    49. Michael A. Clemens, 2011. "Economics and Emigration: Trillion-Dollar Bills on the Sidewalk?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(3), pages 83-106, Summer.
    50. Jensen, Robert T. & Richter, Kaspar, 2004. "The health implications of social security failure: evidence from the Russian pension crisis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1-2), pages 209-236, January.
    51. World Bank, 2013. "World Development Indicators 2013," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 13191.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Chang & Eriksson, Tor & Yi, Fujin, 2021. "Offspring migration and nutritional status of left-behind older adults in rural China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    2. Francisca M. Antman, 2013. "The impact of migration on family left behind," Chapters, in: Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Migration, chapter 16, pages 293-308, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Stohr, Tobias, 2013. "Intra-family migration decisions and elderly left behind," Kiel Working Papers 1858, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    4. Mishra, Khushbu & Kondratjeva, Olga & Shively, Gerald E., 2022. "Do remittances reshape household expenditures? Evidence from Nepal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. AO, Xiang & JIANG, Dawei & ZHAO, Zhong, 2016. "The impact of rural–urban migration on the health of the left-behind parents," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 126-139.
    6. Huang, Bihong & Lian, Yujun & Li, Wensu, 2016. "How far is Chinese left-behind parents' health left behind?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 15-26.
    7. Mobarak, Ahmed Mushfiq & Sharif, Iffath & Shrestha, Maheshwor, 2021. "Returns to International Migration: Evidence from a Bangladesh-Malaysia Visa Lottery," IZA Discussion Papers 14232, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Tobias Stöhr, 2015. "Siblings’ interaction in migration decisions: who provides for the elderly left behind?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 28(3), pages 593-629, July.
    9. Chinedu Obi & Fabio Bartolini & Marijke D’Haese, 2020. "International migration, remittance and food security during food crises: the case study of Nigeria," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(1), pages 207-220, February.
    10. Kostas Mavromaras & Alfiah Hasanah & Silvia Mendolia & Oleg Yerokhin, 2017. "Labour Migration, Food Expenditure, and Household Food Security in Eastern Indonesia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 93, pages 122-143, June.
    11. Mikusheva, Anna, 2013. "Survey on statistical inferences in weakly-identified instrumental variable models," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 29(1), pages 117-131.
    12. Antman, Francisca M., 2018. "Women and Migration," IZA Discussion Papers 11282, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Frédéric Docquier & Hillel Rapoport, 2012. "Globalization, Brain Drain, and Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(3), pages 681-730, September.
    14. Michael P. Murray, 2006. "Avoiding Invalid Instruments and Coping with Weak Instruments," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 111-132, Fall.
    15. Michael Keane & Timothy Neal, 2021. "A Practical Guide to Weak Instruments," Discussion Papers 2021-05b, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    16. Russell Davidson & James G. MacKinnon, 2015. "Bootstrap Tests for Overidentification in Linear Regression Models," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-39, December.
    17. Sarah Bridges & Lefan Liu, 2022. "The impact of child migration on the health and well‐being of parents left behind," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(6), pages 1145-1164, August.
    18. Gomes, Fábio Augusto Reis & Paz, Lourenço S., 2013. "Estimating the elasticity of intertemporal substitution: Is the aggregate financial return free from the weak instrument problem?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 63-75.
    19. Crudu, Federico & Mellace, Giovanni & Sándor, Zsolt, 2021. "Inference In Instrumental Variable Models With Heteroskedasticity And Many Instruments," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 37(2), pages 281-310, April.
    20. Abramitzky, Ran & Boustan, Leah Platt & Eriksson, Katherine, 2013. "Have the poor always been less likely to migrate? Evidence from inheritance practices during the age of mass migration," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 2-14.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    international migration; elderly health;

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:1876. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iwkiede.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.