Abstract
Existing research demonstrates that the effect of remittances on different health outcomes of elderly adults in low-income countries with inadequate social security is inconclusive. The present study set out to fill this gap by examining the effects of receiving remittances on the healthy social and physical functioning of Nigeria’s elderly adults. We also investigate the nonlinear association between remittances and social and physical functioning to identify the minimum amount required to engender healthy social and physical functioning in Nigerian elderly adults. This study utilized data from the 2018/2019 Nigerian Living Standard Survey (NLSS), which included 55,350 young people aged 12–44 (control group) and 18,937 elderly adults aged 45 and above (treatment group). We addressed our objectives using logistic regression-adjusted predicted probabilities and predictive margins. The results reveal that remittance recipients have higher healthy social functioning probabilities than non-recipients. We also found that the influence that remittances have on social functioning depends on the amount of the remittances received. Quantitatively, receiving more than NGN 1,200,000 in remittances ensures increased social functioning probabilities. Given the disparity between the average remittance amount of NGN 54,306.92 received by elderly adults and the NGN 1,200,000 threshold associated with healthy social functioning, bridging this gap is paramount for promoting social functioning among Nigerian elderly adults. We also discussed policy implications for fostering the healthy aging of the population in the interim.
Highlights
Accepted: 8 February 2022Population aging is an essential demographic phenomenon of the 21st century that is fueled by the expansion of elderly adults around the world
As Nigeria is experiencing a boom in its population of elderly adults in a poor environment with inadequate social security, we studied the efficacy of an alternative source of income for elderly adults by (i) examining the association between remittances and healthy aging for all age groups, (ii) investigating the differences in health outcomes between remittance recipients and non-recipients, (iii) and identifying the minimum remittance amount that engenders healthy aging
Though population aging is a global phenomenon with attendant healthy aging issues, socioeconomic challenges and insufficient private and public resources make attaining healthy aging more problematic for the Nigerian elderly adults relative to those living in other climes
Summary
Population aging is an essential demographic phenomenon of the 21st century that is fueled by the expansion of elderly adults around the world. Healthy aging, which promotes aging with good social, physical, and mental functioning [6], is a significant challenge in low-income countries such as Nigeria due to inadequate social security and financial infrastructure to address issues related to healthy elderly aging [7]. In the interim, these challenges inform global and local strategies for sustainable socioeconomic-augmenting financing to optimize the healthy aging of the increasing elderly population
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