Determinants of the Living Arrangement of the Elderly: The Role of Housing Market

Yumiko Kamiya, Trinity College Dublin

The purpose of this article is to fill in some gaps in the way demographers and sociologist traditionally approached determinants of living arrangements of elderly persons by considering the effect of housing market on living arrangements decisions. Most studies investigating the determinants of the living arrangements of the elderly focus on the individuals and family characteristics. In general, housing costs are rarely considered in the analysis of the living arrangements, either in the developed countries or in developing countries. Using data from the Brazilian National Household Survey (PNAD) I find that housing cost and social security income are important variables in explaining the changes in the living arrangements of the elderly in Brazil during the period 1987-1998. In general, I find that independent living is preferred to coresidence, however the likelihood to living alone is constrained by the local housing market.