As part of the Elgar Handbooks in Migration series, the Handbook on Migration and Ageing edited by Sandra Torres and Alistair Hunter provides an overview and structure for research at the intersection of ageing and migration.

In Chapter 1, ‘Migration and ageing: the nexus and its backdrop’, Torres and Hunter make a clear case for the importance of reciprocal engagement between ageing and migration studies. They reflect on two trends which show the need for a closer dialogue: the demographic shift brought about by population ageing, and the expansion of international migration. In each case, they show how the trend has unsettled prior certainties in different academic fields, such as assumptions that ageing is not typically marked by migration; and characterizations of the typical migrant as young and male, now challenged by rising numbers of women and older adult migrants. Throughout this chapter, Torres and Hunter demonstrate the need for new connections between studies of migration and ageing, showing that the interaction of these two fields extends beyond the experiences of ‘older migrants’. In doing so, they set the agenda for the following 31 chapters.

The subsequent book is organized into three parts. Part I, ‘Conceptual foundations’, introduces core concepts that are relevant across the fields of ageing and migration. These concepts are ‘The life course and migration: the social position of ageing’ (Katz and Grenier, Ch. 2), ‘Intergenerational relations’ (Sun, Ch. 3), ‘Retirement’ (Repetti, Ch. 4), ‘Ethnicity and race’ (Torres, Ch. 5), ‘Super-diversity and intersectionality’ (Ciobanu, Ch. 6), ‘Welfare/migration regimes and care chains’ (Kilkey, Ch. 7), ‘Integration and transnationalism’ (Bolzman, Ch. 8), ‘Social exclusion’ (Mac Innes and Walsh, Ch. 9), ‘Ageing in place’ (Sampaio and Walsh, Ch. 10), ‘Racialization and racism’ (Torres, Ch. 11) and ‘Dying and death’ (Soom Amman, Ch. 12). Each of these chapters presents the main concept and explores gerontological and migration-related perspectives, before synthesizing relevant research literature and offering suggestions for future research. Each chapter also contains an extensive reference list for further research. Combined, these chapters give a comprehensive overview of key ideas and conceptual frameworks for scholars hoping to bridge both fields. They cover lifecourse perspectives and key transitions; address ways in which identity is formed or imposed, through processes of ageing and migration; and examine the realities and challenges of lives lived across national borders.

Part II, ‘Categories at the intersection of migration and ageing’, is the first of two parts outlining current research on migration and ageing. These categories are ‘Internal migrants: movers and stayers’ (Northcott, Ch. 13), ‘The relationship between migration intensity and age’ (Rees, Ch. 14), ‘Older refugees and internally displaced people’ (Hunter and Böcker, Ch. 15), ‘Ageing international labour migrants’ (Liversage, Ch. 16), ‘International retirement migrants’ (King and Cela, Ch. 17), ‘Return and circular migration in later life’ (Hunter, Ch. 18), ‘Family reunification migrants and the Zero Generation’ (Nedelcu, Ch. 19), ‘Left-behind older people’ (Lenoël, Ch. 20) and ‘Migrant eldercare workers' (Amrith, Ch. 21). This part explores the intersectional experiences of specific groups of people, defined with reference to age- and migration-related patterns. The chapters highlight the breadth of different types of migration, and their interaction with experiences of ageing, contributing substantially to the Handbook’s aim to illuminate the diversity of shared interests among scholars of ageing and of migration. They also reflect on significant gaps in existing research, especially around ageing and migration in the Global South, which is particularly well addressed by Liversage in Chapter 16, and they offer interesting methodological approaches to understanding ageing and migration, as in Rees’ discussion of modelling migration flows by age group in Chapter 14.

Part III, ‘Scholarship focusing on agency and vulnerabilities’, provides a research overview focused on the lives of older migrants and the ways in which they navigate their worlds. These topics are ‘Older migrants and self-realization projects’ (Lulle and King, Ch. 22), ‘Older migrants and socio-economic inequalities’ (Gubernskaya and Dobreva, Ch. 23), ‘Older migrants, health and wellbeing’ (Cela and Barbiano di Belgiojoso, Ch. 24), ‘Older migrants and mortality’ (Wallace, Ch. 25), ‘Social relations and older migrants’ (Ajrouch, Antonucci and Hu, Ch. 26), ‘Older migrants as transmitters of values and culture’ (Albert, Ch. 27), ‘Loneliness among older migrants’ (Fokkema, Ch. 28), ‘Older migrants and dementia’ (Hellström, Ch. 29), ‘Older migrants and access and usage of care’ (Kobayashi and Khan, Ch. 30), ‘Older migrants and care recipiency’ (Horn, Ch. 31) and ‘Older migrants’ use of information and communication technologies’ (Wilding, Ch. 32). These chapters explore the agency and resilience of older migrants in diverse circumstances, and highlight the value of intergenerational solidarity, and the economic and care-giving contributions of older generations. They thoughtfully engage with emerging challenges, as in Hellström’s chapter on the experiences of older migrants with dementia, which highlights an important gap and sets a clear agenda for future research.

Beyond offering a valuable overview of research on ageing and migration, the process of editing the Handbook, bringing together a diverse group of scholars and curating a broad range of important topics, is itself an active effort to shape and establish the field. This is a process that both editors have played an instrumental part in for years: creating connections, encouraging dialogue and bringing the emerging field of ageing and migration studies into existence.

This is discussed in the opening chapter, where the editors reflect on their involvement with scholarly networks of migration and ageing scholars, while acknowledging that these networks remain geographically bound. Their choice of authors for the Handbook aims to strengthen dialogue among these networks and beyond. The diversity of disciplines and institutions reflected in the contributors’ biographies, while still heavily skewed towards high-income countries, is testament to this.

Some challenges remain, in this venture towards dialogue and a shared discipline. Over the course of an edited book, multiple chapters inevitably ground their work in the same few seminal studies or theoretical frameworks, risking duplication of the evidence base but usefully pointing towards the existence of a core set of foundational texts and ideas for this area of scholarship. The issue of language is also complex, with the editors reflecting that ‘consistency in terminology is … a challenge’ (p. 8), which is evident in differing, and occasionally contradictory, uses of language among the various chapters. Future editions might helpfully offer a standardized terminology that draws on best practice from both fields.

On the whole, the Handbook contends well with the characteristic challenge of synthesizing research on migration: its diversity in terms of types, purposes and durations of migration; countries of origin and destination; lifecourse stages; and changing national and international migration regimes. Most chapters acknowledge this and recognize the extent to which it limits the ability to draw consistent conclusions about migrants’ experiences and outcomes.

Aimed at scholars who wish to explore the intersection of ageing and migration research, the Handbook on Migration and Ageing is a timely contribution. It presents a clear agenda for future research on migration and ageing, as shown in the breadth of topics its chapters represent and the recommendations which they contain, supporting the emergence of ageing and migration as a field of scholarship, study and practice.