Aging within Transnational Families

The Case of Older Peruvians

Transnational migration studies has produced a wealth of literature on migrants’ economic, cultural, social and political practices and relationships across national borders. At least until recently, the primary focus of this literature was on younger adults, especially unskilled labour migrants from the Global South. In contrast, the question of how old age and different degrees of mobility relate to transnational practices and orientations was rarely addressed. Similarly, scholars looking at processes of aging only sporadically approached the lives of older people from a transnational vantage point.

Thus far, chiefly transnational family scholars have studied older peoples’ cross-border involvement. Studies in this field emphasize the complexities and consequences of older peoples’ situations in transnational family arrangements. However, empirical evidence of the prevalence and structuring features of older peoples’ family-related transnational practices remains scarce. Similarly, little is known about the relationship between age and specific stages in the life-course and the type and scope of older family members’ transnational engagement. Also, research on the association between different migration regimes and transnational family arrangements is scarce.

By asking how, why and to what extent do older Peruvians engage in transnational family ties and practices ‘Aging within Transnational Families’ seeks to enhance our knowledge about aging across borders. Drawing on the care circulation framework and the capacity and desire approach, it explores the motivations of older Peruvians’ transnational involvement as well as the factors influencing the scope and propensity of their cross-border practices. From a life course perspective, the book asks how age relates to older Peruvian migrants’ integration into the host society and engagement in the sending of remittances and visits of family members in Peru. Using a situated approach, a particular analytic focus is on the political and institutional contexts surrounding the older Peruvians’ transnational involvement.