Asset accumulation and transfer for old age : a study on Peruvian and Moroccan migration to Spain

Abstract

Population ageing constitutes a major determinant of contemporary international migration, acting both as a push and pull factor in countries of origin and reception. From a micro-perspective, longevity, economic instability and migration are also affecting personal life as well as family organisation and solidarity. The aim of this paper is to focus on the strategies, in individual and family spheres, that migrants and their loved ones develop to accumulate and transfer assets, in order to respond to the demands of the elderly and counteract the uncertainties of advancing age. To capture this reality we conducted in-depth interviews and focus groups with Peruvian and Moroccan migrants in Spain, and with returnees and relatives in the two countries of origin between 2006 and 2010. Both cases demonstrate that country contexts, together with personal experiences and family relationships, determine where to stay, and with whom or with what to support oneself as one grows older. More recently, the economic crisis in Spain that is negatively influencing social and migration policies, reducing migrants’ economic gains, and placing new burdens on people’s shoulders, is affecting these asset accumulation and transfer activities for old age.