ON THE LIVING ARRANGEMENTS OF ELDERLY WIDOWS

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bethencourt, Carlos; Rios-Rull, Jose-Victor
• 署名单位: Center for Economic & Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research; Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - Minneapolis; University of Minnesota System; University of Minnesota Twin Cities; Universidad de la Laguna; University of Pennsylvania
• 刊物名称: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0020-6598
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2354.2009.00548.x
• 发表日期: 2009
• 页码: 773-801
• 关键词: UNITED-STATES; young men; coresidence; INDEPENDENCE; incomes; GROWTH; women; LIFE

摘要

Between 1970 and 1990, the share of elderly widows living alone grew by 23.2% in the United States, whereas those living with their children decreased by a similar amount. We pose a variety of models for determining the living arrangements in which living together increases consumption because of economies of scale and may also provide utility directly. We estimate these models using the 1970 data and obtain an excellent fit. The estimated models predict that changes in the incomes of both the widow and her offspring generate three-quarters of the increase in the number of widows living alone.