The Living Arrangement Dynamics of Sick, Elderly Individuals

Abstract

We model the dynamics associated with living-arrangement decisions of sick elderly individuals. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics’ Parental Health Supplement, we construct the complete living-arrangement histories of elderly individuals in need of care. We use a simultaneous random-effects competing-risks model to analyze the impact of demographic characteristics, health, and wealth on the living-arrangement decisions of sick elderly individuals while taking into account state and duration dependence as well as unobserved heterogeneity. We find that the sick elderly individual’s current living arrangement as well as the time spent in that living arrangement serve as important predictors of future living-arrangements.