Migration and Health Outcomes of Left-Behind Elderly in Rural China

Abstract

This paper examines whether migration of adult children adversely affects the health of the left-behind elderly in rural China. Establishing causal effect is complicated by the fact that there may be unobserved factors influencing both child migration and health of the elderly. I address this endogeneity by using instrumental variable method. The findings show that child migration reduces the health of the elderly, with both physical health and mental health deteriorating with migration of adult children. Parents of migrant children also have poor memory and they are more likely to suffer serious fall. Furthermore, migration of both sons and daughters reduce parental health, with the effects of daughter migration being greater.

Keywords: Migration, Left-Behind Elderly, Health

JEL Classification: J14, O15, D13, I12, R23