Return Migration in Later Life in Mainland China: Motivations, Patterns, and Influences

This study focuses on patterns and influences of return migration behavior in mainland China, (n = 468 individuals ages 50 and above) from a life-course perspective, using the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Utilizing spatial analysis, we found return migration geographic patterns mainly from the frontier and urban centers to central provinces, involving migrant workers returning to their rural homes. We used logistic linear modeling to examine the correlations between personal attributes (e.g., age, gender, marital status), environmental aspects (e.g., community characteristics, housing conditions, geographic attributes), and return migration. Historical and socioeconomic factors affected return migration, including availability parents to provide care, declining personal health, improved housing infrastructures, and better access to community services. Our findings also show the productive social role of caregiving as a reason for migration, calling for flexible policies in China's social welfare system, comprehensive senior living facilities, and adequate support systems in rural communities.