Migration and the Well-Being of the Elderly in Rural China

Yue Zhuo, University at Albany, State University of New York
Zai Liang, University at Albany, State University of New York

In this paper, we examine the extent to which migration of younger generation affects the well-being of elderly in rural China. Our general strategy is to compare the well-being of the elderly who have migrant children and of those who do not. Specifically, we consider following four aspects: money transfer from children to the elderly, housing conditions, life satisfaction, and living arrangements. Data are from 10% sample of the 2000 China Aged Population Survey. We find a high proportion of the rural elderly have migrant children. Results suggest that the rural elderly with migrant children obtain more economic support from children and also have better housing conditions than those without migrant children. With respect to life satisfaction and living arrangements, no significant pattern is found. The implications for family planning policy, rural-to-urban migration, and especially elderly support in the future are discussed.