Full Citation

Title: Elderly and Non-Elderly Interstate Migrants - The Changing Roles of Socioeconomic, Disability and Veteran Status

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2008

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI:

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: This research explores how the typical interstate migrant elderly and non-elderly haschanged relative to his/her non-migrating counterpart since 1970. In addition tosocioeconomic status, we focus on the role of two additional characteristics, disabilityand veteran status, which past research has shown are linked with differing motives forelderly migration (assistance moves and amenity moves, respectively). Using data fromthe 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000 Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS), ourdescriptive and multivariate analyses consistently show that disability status has grown inimportance to elderly migration decisions while veteran and socioeconomic status havedeclined. Furthermore, these changes are unique to the elderly; non-elderly migrationdisplays exactly opposite trends. The growing role of disability in elderly migration isgeographically universal and extends to both return (a proxy for assistance-relatedmigration) and non-return migration. Our results strongly suggest that assistance isgrowing as a motive for elderly interstate migration, which has implications for the risinghealth care costs facing states and, more generally, the gray boon versus gray burdendebate over the consequences of elderly migration.

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Conway, Karen S.; Rork, Jonathan C.

Publisher: University of New Hampshire

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Aging and Retirement, Migration and Immigration

Countries: