Migration of elderly households in Canada, 1991–1996: determinants and differences

Abstract

elderly. The human capital model of migration is not applicable to the elderly. For couples both the characteristics of the primary household maintainer and the characteristics of the spouse or common-law partner are determinants of the couple's migration, underlining the importance of modelling migration as a household move. Single-person households often, but not always, show results similar to those for couples. When male and female single-person households are compared, migration determinants usually have a stronger effect on females then on males. ABSTRACTThe elderly, already a significant component of internal migration in Canada, will be an increasingly important element of future internal migration. Using census data on households, the flows and determinants of elderly migration are examined and compared with younger groups. Few migrate as individuals, most moves are multiple-person moves, and the household, particularly the family, is the appropriate unit of analysis. In 1996 over 88% of those who migrated in the previous five years were members of households of two or more persons. The elderly are compared with the near-elderly and those likely to be in the labour force, using the age of the primary household maintainer, a person named by each household, to classify households. The elderly are households with a primary household maintainer 65 years of age or over, the nearelderly have a primary household maintainer of 55 to 64 years, and independent decisionmakers, the major component of the labour force, have a primary household maintainer aged 25 to 54. Significant differences are found between the groups. The elderly have a lower rate of migration and their migration determinants and destinations are less driven by employment considerations. While education, for example, is a consistently-found determinant of migration for those in the labour force, it is much less significant for the

Later-Life Migrations in Canada in 2001: A Multilevel Approach

“…A set of explanatory variables drawn from the literature operationalize each of the models, controlling for a variety of variables mediating migration (see, for examples, Liaw and Qi 2004;Marr and Millerd 2004;Meyer and Speare 1985;Speare et al 1991). Individual characteristics including total household income (less than $20,000, $20,000-$39,999, $40,000-$59,999 or $60,000 and greater); age (60 years old and older 5 years prior to Census); gender (female or male); marital status (married, single or divorced, widowed or separated); immigration status (Canadianborn or foreign-born); ethnicity (North American, British Isles, French, Other European, Asian, Aboriginal, and All Other Ethnicities); home language (English only, French only, Combination of English, French or Other, or Not English or French); tenure (own home, rent home, or band housing); labor force status (not in labor force, employed or unemployed); education (high school degree or less, some b All variables significant at p<0.01 with exceptions of * significant at p<0.05 and *** are insignificant university or equivalent, or university bachelor's degree or higher); and activity limitations (no activity limitations, some activity limitations or no stated activity limitations).…”

“…Age is an important predictor of later-life migrations, with the propensity to migrate among the older population declining with age (Marr and Millerd 2004;Moore et al 1997;Newbold 1996;Northcott 1988). Of the older population those who were more likely to participate in later-life migrations tend to be younger, white, and better educated (Day and Barlett 2000;Newbold 1996).…”

“…Of the older population those who were more likely to participate in later-life migrations tend to be younger, white, and better educated (Day and Barlett 2000;Newbold 1996). In the Canadian context between 1991 and 1996, Marr and Millerd (2004) found that over 80% of later-life migrants moved as a member of a multiple-person household. Hazelrigg and Hardy (1995) found an income advantage to those who moved to Florida after retirement because of their higher levels of education, while Longino (1985) estimated that by the early 1980s the average income of migrant households was 80% more than of all older households in the United States.…”

The Changing Roles of Disability, Veteran, and Socioeconomic Status in Elderly Interstate Migration

“…These two exercises reassure us that any possible miscoding in the 2000 IPUMS is not having a significant impact on our results. Lin (1997) and Marr and Millerd (2004) discuss possible problems with the typical approach of using the individual, rather than the household, as the unit of measurement that could be relevant here. Cowper et al (2000) note that elderly veterans are overwhelmingly male, which also makes the distinction between the household and the individual potentially important.…”

“…To our knowledge, we are the first to study the effect of individual characteristics on interstate migration over a long time period or to consider both disability and veteran status as additional predictors. Past census-based, multivariate studies of elderly migration have either excluded both characteristics (e.g., Frey et al 2000;Marr and Millerd 2004;Newbold 1996) or included only disability (e.g., Kallan 1993;Walters 2002b). Most descriptive studies have excluded these characteristics as well, especially veteran status, although Cowper et al (2000) is a notable exception.…”