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.