The Living Environments of the Elderly in Wisconsin: Evidence from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey 5-year PUMS Data
Mentor 1
David Chunyu
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
24-4-2015 2:30 PM
End Date
24-4-2015 3:45 PM
Description
This study examines the elderly people living in Wisconsin age 60 or greater and their living environments. As people age they live in variety of living environments. This study aims at looking at the different types of living environments the elderly are living in and how that’s affected by an array of socio-demographic factors. Using the 2008-2012 American Community Survey 5-year PUMS data, I looked into variables including age, gender, race, homeownership status, marital status, family size, total family income and self-care difficulty. The analysis was conducted using the SPSS software, and the preliminary findings suggest that older aged people are less likely to be homeowners, more likely to live alone, and are also more likely to have self-care difficulty.Regarding the living arrangements of the elderly, I found that generally women are more likely than men to live alone, which is probably because women live longer than men and are more likely to be widowed. But once the marital status is controlled for, such gender difference actually tends to be reserved, with men more likely to live alone sometimes. In addition, I found that people who have self-care difficulties tend to live alone more frequently than those without self-care difficulties.Regarding the homeownership of the elderly, I found that men are more likely than women to own a home. There is also a race effect: whites’ homeownership rates tend to decrease with age while blacks’ homeownership rates vary in a quite different way and the racial gap tends to close at advanced ages. Homeownership rates are also higher among those who are married and who have higher family income, but once the total family income reaches $60,000 the income effect becomes insignificant.A potential policy implication from this study is that policy makers might consider providing additional support for those who have self-care difficulty because they are actually more likely to live alone.
The Living Environments of the Elderly in Wisconsin: Evidence from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey 5-year PUMS Data
Union Wisconsin Room
This study examines the elderly people living in Wisconsin age 60 or greater and their living environments. As people age they live in variety of living environments. This study aims at looking at the different types of living environments the elderly are living in and how that’s affected by an array of socio-demographic factors. Using the 2008-2012 American Community Survey 5-year PUMS data, I looked into variables including age, gender, race, homeownership status, marital status, family size, total family income and self-care difficulty. The analysis was conducted using the SPSS software, and the preliminary findings suggest that older aged people are less likely to be homeowners, more likely to live alone, and are also more likely to have self-care difficulty.Regarding the living arrangements of the elderly, I found that generally women are more likely than men to live alone, which is probably because women live longer than men and are more likely to be widowed. But once the marital status is controlled for, such gender difference actually tends to be reserved, with men more likely to live alone sometimes. In addition, I found that people who have self-care difficulties tend to live alone more frequently than those without self-care difficulties.Regarding the homeownership of the elderly, I found that men are more likely than women to own a home. There is also a race effect: whites’ homeownership rates tend to decrease with age while blacks’ homeownership rates vary in a quite different way and the racial gap tends to close at advanced ages. Homeownership rates are also higher among those who are married and who have higher family income, but once the total family income reaches $60,000 the income effect becomes insignificant.A potential policy implication from this study is that policy makers might consider providing additional support for those who have self-care difficulty because they are actually more likely to live alone.
