Aging & Social Change: Ninth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

The defining migration characteristic of Nepal is its out-migration for employment and the remittances that generates. The Asian Development Bank describes remittances as the “bedrock” of Nepal’s economy, indispensable for Nepal at its present stage of development. Evidently, they increase household income and therefore have positive impacts on the amounts available to spend on education, healthcare, and other goods and services. However, there are also negative impacts to migration including on the health and welfare of those who work abroad, the effect on families left behind, and on national productively, to name a few. Elderly people are the ones among those left behind who wish their sons, in-laws or daughters to return soon and live together. This study presents facts and figures to consider how migration impacts on different sectors in Nepal, particularly elderly people as those left behind.