Journal Article

Determinants of the living arrangements of older people in Europe

Gaymu, J., Delbès, C., Springer, S., Binet, A., Désesquelles, A., Kalogirou, S., Ziegler, U.
European Journal of Population, 22:3, 241–262 (2006)

Abstract

This paper analyses the influence of relevant variables (age, sex, marital status, health, income, education and children) on the risk of belonging to one of the four main types of household in which old European people live nowadays: alone, with partner, with others, in a collective household. Nine countries with different social and political contexts are compared by using different data sources. These socio-demographic characteristics play the same role in all countries except for the influence of childlessness and of gender, but the geographical heterogeneity of the living arrangements remains partly unexplained due to currently inadequate comparative data sources for Europe.
Keywords: Europe, living conditions
The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock is one of the leading demographic research centers in the world. It's part of the Max Planck Society, the internationally renowned German research society.