Senior Migration: Spatial Considerations of Amenity and Health Access Drivers*

Abstract

ABSTRACT. This paper extends the literature on amenity migration by focusing on healthcare access for later-life migrants. Previous studies have strongly suggested that natural amenities are strong pull factors for later-life migrants, but high natural amenity counties rarely possess the quality healthcare access optimal for elderly migrants. Utilizing a spatial Bayesian estimation strategy, we explicitly consider numerous drivers of later-life migration to examine the extent to which health access is a driver in location decisions. We find healthcare access measures, including hospital expenditures, hospital beds, and number of doctors, are positively associated with later-life migration decisions.

Are old regions less attractive? Interregional labour migration in a context of population ageing

“…In contrast, Dorfman and Mandich (2016) emphasize the relevance of health care access for migration among the elderly. If such sorting mechanisms exist, we would expect differences in how migration decisions vary with regional age structure for younger and older individuals.…”

“…For example, school provision may be a concern for families and thus factor especially in relocation decisions for these age groups but not for older ones. In contrast, Dorfman and Mandich (2016) emphasise the relevance of health care access for migration among the elderly. If such sorting mechanisms exist, we would expect differences in how migration decisions vary with regional age structure for younger and older individuals.…”

“…The extensive literature on graduate mobility emphasizes labour market factors as motivating both migration propensity and destination (e.g., Haussen & Uebelmesser, 2018; Venhorst et al, 2011). For older individuals, labour market aspects diminish in importance, whereas housing costs and amenities become more relevant in explaining migration patterns (Chen & Rosenthal, 2008; Clark & Hunter, 1992; Dorfman & Mandich, 2016; Millington, 2000; Schaffar et al, 2019). Goetzke and Rave (2013) show that age groups evaluate combinations of employment opportunities and amenities (capitalized into wages or property values) differently, with ages 30–49 being particularly sensitive to employment and younger groups more sensitive to amenities.…”

Do urban casinos affect nearby neighbourhoods? Evidence from Canada

“…We analyse changes in these variables before and after the casino opened to assess whether or not the impacts of a new casino are substantial enough to affect migration patterns. Local amenities of many kinds can drive migration decisions (Dorfman and Mandich, ). If casinos make a community less family friendly, it may discourage households composed of of married couples and those with young children from moving in, or induce them to move out of the neighbourhood.…”

Best living concepts for elderly homeowners: combining a stated choice experiment with architectural design

“…Much of this literature focusses on location choices. It shows that senior households move to places with highly valued consumer amenities including health care, high temperatures and low taxes (Chen and Rosenthal 2008;Önder and Schlunk 2015;Dorfman and Mandich 2016;Graves and Waldman 1991;Kim 2011), closer to their place of birth (Schaffar et al 2018) or to their children (Bonnet et al 2010). As for housing choice, elderly seem to choose for a smaller dwelling size (Bian 2016; Eichholtz and Lindenthal 2014; Painter and Lee 2009), shared living (Engelhardt and Greenhalgh-Stanley 2010) and rental housing (Herbers et al 2014;Angelini and Laferrere 2012).…”