Immigration, migration and aging: the impact of globalization

PARTICIPANTS: C. Phillipson (Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom). Globalization, Migration and Transnational Communities: A New Research Agenda. J. Jackson (The University of Michigan, Detroit, MI), T. Antonucci (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI). Attitudes of Western Countries on Immigrants' Aging-In-Place and Late Life Immigration. R. Katz. A, Lowenstein (The University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel). Impact of Living Arrangements on Adjustment of Elderly Immigrants and Their Use of Formal and Informal Supports. DISCUSSANTS: V. Bengtson (University Southern California, Los Angeles, CA). Immigration, migration and population aging are among the major demographic dynamics. Opening of borders across Europe and the European Union's need to create a 'Social Europe' reflects the globalization impact on immigration and migration. National immigration policies vary between countries and thus cross-cultural comparisons are important in understanding the, relationship of immigration and migration to resources required. The tension between the local and the global, in the framing of social policy for migrants, and promoting their integration should thus be explored. The symposium will present an overview on the impact of globalization on aging migrants and their families facing the task of managing generational ties at a transnational rather than a national level. Presenters will describe patterns of adjustment and difficulties faced by older migrants in the UK, Israel, and the US, attitudes towards them and their use of formal and informal resources, proposing a new research agenda.