Does it matter where the children are? The wellbeing of elderly people ‘left behind’ by migrant children in Moldova

Abstract

This paper empirically evaluates the wellbeing of elderly individuals 'left behind' by their adult migrant children in Moldova. Using data from a nationally representative household survey conducted in - in Moldova, the wellbeing outcomes of elderly individuals aged  and older with and without adult children living abroad are compared (N = ,). A multi-dimensional wellbeing index is constructed on the basis of seven indicators within four dimensions of wellbeing: physical health, housing, social wellbeing and emotional wellbeing. Probit regressions are used to predict the probability of an elderly individual being considered well in each indicator and then on total index level. The results reveal that elderly persons with an adult migrant child have a higher probability of being well in one physical health indicator. Following correction for the selectivity of migration using an instrumental variable approach, however, the migration of an adult child is no longer found to predict significantly the wellbeing of their elderly parents in any dimension, suggesting that migration bears limited consequences for elderly wellbeing.

Emigration, remittances, and the subjective well-being of those staying behind

“…The authors demonstrate that selection biases simple OLS results downwards, implying that when the selection of individuals from poor households with a priori sickly parents is taken into account using instrumental variables approach, the true positive consequences of emigration for the health of the elderly left behind are even stronger. Waidler et al (2016) reach the opposite conclusion, again using a similar sample for Moldovan elderly parents and an instrumental variable estimation. Finally, as noted, using an experiment involving a migration lottery allowing Tongans to emigrate to New Zealand, Gibson et al (2011) do not find much evidence that selfselection at the individual level biases the results.…”

“…Correcting reverse causality and selection bias is usually achieved using instrumental variables (Böhme et al 2015;Waidler et al 2016), natural experiments (Gibson et al 2011), or selection-correction procedures and matching (Borraz et al 2010). Nonetheless, finding convincing instruments that are only correlated with the migration decision but not subjective well-being is challenging.…”

“…The evidence for Thailand is more mixed, with Adhikari et al (2011) reporting a negative association and Abas et al (2009) finding the opposite. Providing causal estimates is a common challenge (Démurger 2015), and the few studies explicitly addressing causality (Böhme et al 2015;Gibson et al 2011;Waidler et al 2016) find that emigration has no effect on the mental health (captured by various indicators, including an index of feeling happy, peaceful, tense, blue and downhearted, and feeling depressed) of the elderly staying behind in Moldova and Tonga. 1 An emerging literature has considered the well-being consequences of receiving migrant remittances from abroad (which we define as transfers of money and goods made by migrants to the family members back home; henceforth, remittances).…”

Non-kin ties as a source of support amongst older adults ‘left behind’ in Poland: a quantitative study on the role of geographic distance

“…Thus far, research on parents left behind by migration within Europe has been scarce and mostly small scale. Exceptions have been Gedvilaitė-Kordušienė (2015) on Lithuania; King and Vullnetari (2006) on Albania; Krzyzowski and Mucha (2014) on Poland; Waidler et al (2016) on Moldova; and Zimmer, Rada and Stoica (2014) on Romania. These latter studies reflect the recency of large-scale East–West migration flows, consequent on EU enlargements in 2004 and 2007, and hence the relative newness of the phenomenon of the ‘left behind’ in Europe (Black et al 2010; Favell 2008).…”

Protecting across borders

“…On the one hand, scholars have examined aspects of motherhood and fatherhood when children are 'left behind' in the origin countries (often in the Global South), while their parents migrate to find job opportunities abroad (mostly in the Global North) (Dreby & Adkins, 2010;Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila, 1997;Kilkey, 2014;Parreñas, 2010;Poeze & Mazzucato, 2016;Schmalzbauer, 2004). On the other hand, research has looked at families in which migrant adult children live separated from their elderly parents, who remain in the country of origin (Baldassar et al, 2007;Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002;Gassmann, Siegel, Vanore, & Waidler, 2017;Zickgraf, 2017). Moving beyond the mother-child dyad, a few prominent studies have recognised that in transnational care-giving arrangements, other kin often play important caregiver roles (Bernardi, 2011;Mazzucato & Schans, 2011).…”