Modeling Elderly Mobility

Abstract

A central component of understanding the changing distributions of the elderly is the nature of elderly migration and residential mobility. A modification of the housing disequilibrium model is adapted to examine flows at both national and local levels in the United States. Nationally, it is found that (per-capita) income and rental levels (which are associated with location within the city) are important influences on elderly intraurban mobility within the rental sector. The findings indicate that the motivations for elderly mobility are different from those for the general population. The elderly population are more clearly influenced by their financial situation whereas the general population are influenced by issues of dwelling size and quality. Specific contextual effects are uncovered in two case studies.