Intergenerational Coresidence in Developing Countries

1. Intergenerational Coresidence in Developing Countries Steven Ruggles and Misty Heggeness Minnesota Population Center University of Minnesota April 18, 2008

2. Objectives and goals Main objective: Analyze global trends of intergenerational coresidence overtime in developing countries Specific goals: Describe trends in coresidence from the perspective of both the adult child and elder parent generations Assess trends in younger-head and elder-head families Assess the relationship of intergenerational coresidence to demographic, socioeconomic, and economic development variables

3. Intergenerational Coresidence and Economic Development (1) mid 1800s: Frédéric Le Play Traditional families bound by property Younger generation provides labor on parental land and eventually inherits the household and its resources. With the rise of wage labor, fewer have property and more elderly start residing without their children. early 1900s: Sociologists Burgess, Ogburn, Wirth, & Parsons Small nuclear families are best adapted to modern conditions, such as high geographic mobility, social mobility, and urban residence. Frédéric Le Play (1806-1882)

4. mid 1900s: William Goode The small, nuclear family is beginning to predominate everywhere. “Wherever the economic system expands through industrialization, family patterns change. Extended kinship ties weaken, lineage patterns dissolve, and a trend toward some form of the conjugal system generally begins to appear – that is, the nuclear family becomes a more independent kinship unit.” (Goode 1963: 6) Intergenerational Coresidence and Economic Development (2) William J. Goode (1917-2003)

5. Intergenerational Coresidence and Economic Development (3) Recent scholars Dominant view: There are a variety of different mechanisms and advances in family theory on coresidence since Goode. Most recent analysts of aging in the developing world assume that coresidence is common in agricultural societies and diminishes with economic development. Alternative view: Some argue the cultural indelibility of family systems - traditional family forms are fundamental cultural structures that remain resilient to change Main point: As countries develop, most analysts assume that intergenerational coresidence should decline.

6. For the most part, this theory holds for Western industrialized countries. Clear evidence exists for the most developed East Asian countries (Japan, Korea, Taiwan). Direct evidence from developing countries is scarce. Intergenerational Coresidence and Economic Development (4) Percent of Persons Aged 65+ Residing with their Own Children aged 18+: United States 1850-2000

7. Definitions and Terminology Intergenerational coresidence Persons age 65 and over who live with at least one child age 18 or older. Households Younger-head: Household headed by the younger generation with a parent residing in the household Older-head: Household headed by the older generation with children 18 or over residing in the household Other: Any other household not identified as a younger-head or older-head household.

8. Stem-family or joint-family model Wealth, power, and authority are concentrated in the older generation. The younger generation is dependent on their elders for housing, employment, and inheritance. Traditional patriarchal familieswould be expected to decline with expanded economic opportunity of the younger generation, since the alternatives to familial employment would become more attractive. We expect this type of household to be most commonly identified as an elder-head household Le Play, Berkner, Ruggles, others

9. Old-age support systems model Implicitly assumes elderly parents are dependent on adult children and move in with children for care. Old-age support might be expected to become more common with economic development, as elders no longer have family farms and the rising income of the younger generation increases their capacity to support destitute parents. We expect this type of household to be most commonly identified as an younger-head household Bongaarts, Knodel

10. Study data Our study analyzes coresidence between elderly parents and their adult children in 15 countries from 1970 to 2003 using IPUMS-International data. http://ipums.org/

12. Percent of older generation in either type of intergenerational family Direction of change: • UP (6) • Colombia, Mexico, Romania, South Africa, Venezuela, Vietnam • DOWN (6) • Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, • Fluctuating (Up, then down) • Brazil, Chile, Philippines

13. Percent of older generation in elder-head intergenerational families Direction of change: • UP (13) • Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Philippines, Romania, South Africa, Uganda, Venezuela, Vietnam • DOWN (2) • Kenya, Rwanda

14. Percent of older generation in younger-head intergenerational families Direction of change: • UP (3) • Mexico, South Africa, Vietnam • DOWN (12) • Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Kenya, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, Uganda, Venezuela

15. Multinomial Logit Regression Dependent variable Household type (younger-head, older-head, other) Independent variables Demographic Gender, age, marital status Socioeconomic Education, employment status Economic development indicators Percent living in an urban area, GDP per capita, life expectancy Others Decade, country

16. Multinomial logit regression of intergenerational coresidence on selected characteristics (odds ratios): Persons age 65 or older (older generation)

17. Summary of Empirical Findings There are no clear trends in overall coresidence in developing countries since 1970. The configuration of intergenerational families is shifting: Intergenerational families headed by the older generation—the sort associated with traditional stem-and joint-family systems—are becoming more common in most countries, with exceptions mainly in Africa. Intergenerational families headed by the younger generation—the configuration, we hypothesize, that signals old-age support—are much rarer, and they are on the decline in most countries.

18. Some potential explanations Housing shortage (urbanization, population growth) Child care (female labor force participation) Rising youth unemployment (some LA and Africa) Old-age pensions (South Africa, Brazil)

19. Increasing Affluence Hypothesis “The lower strata in most societies live in small households.” (Goode 1963) “Extended living arrangements . . .should be regarded as a luxury.” (Ruggles 1987) • Residence in stem or joint families may be preferred in many countries, but unattainable for many because they lack sufficient resources; with rising incomes, more people may be able to achieve their preferred family form.

20. Thank you • For more information about the data or research using IPUMS or IPUMS-International data, go to: http://ipums.org/