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Both migration and population ageing are increasingly occurring in Thailand. The objective of this paper is to examine the extent to which an association exists between health of older parents and return migration of children in rural Thailand.

The paper finds that a type of family solidarity is being maintained in Thailand, with decisions regarding return migration being influenced by needs and circumstances of older adults as one determining factor. However, the findings say nothing about whether the response is common enough to meet the long term personal care needs of most parents.

The paper concludes that:

• serious challenges remain to the future welfare of older adults in Thailand and other developing countries
• the elderly in Thailand have yet to experience the full extent of the fertility reduction of the past that has led to the current below replacement levels
• future elderly cohorts will have fewer than two surviving children, placing a greater burden on each child
• these reductions in fertility are likely to interact with increasing levels of migration out of rural areas as socio-economic development continues to occur
• if further fertility declines coupled with increased migration signify that older adults will truly be living without children nearby, it may have consequential influences for future support levels

Nevertheless, the paper deems that accommodations for older adults can be made despite social changes promoting out-migration and the demographic ageing of the population. That is to say, accommodations for older adults can continue even if the form of accommodation changes.

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