000			02581cam a22003377 4500
001			w6511
003			NBER
005			20211020113859.0
006			m o d
007			cr cnu||||||||
008			210910s1998 mau fo 000 0 eng d
100	1		_aMcGarry, Kathleen. _916430
245	1	0	_aSocial Security, Economic Growth, and the Rise in Independence of Elderly Widows in the 20th Century / _cKathleen McGarry, Robert F. Schoeni.
260			_aCambridge, Mass. _bNational Bureau of Economic Research _c1998.
300			_a1 online resource: _billustrations (black and white);
490	1		_aNBER working paper series _vno. w6511
500			_aApril 1998.
520	3		_aThe share of elderly widows living alone rose from 18 percent in 1940 to 62 percent in 1990, while the share living with adult children declined from 59 percent to 20 percent. This study analyzes the causes of this change and finds that income growth, in particular increased Social Security benefits, was the single most important factor causing the change in living arrangements accounting for nearly two-thirds of the rise in the share of elderly widows living alone. Changes in benefits from the mean-tested OAA/SSI programs had a lesser impact on the decision to live alone but were a significant factor in explaining changes in the living arrangements of the poorest widows. Furthermore, contrary to recent work, we find no evidence that the effect of income on living arrangements became stronger over the period; income had a substantial positive effect on the propensity to live alone as early as the 1940s and 1950s. Finally, the substantial changes observed in the composition of the population with respect to age, race, immigrant status, schooling, and completed fertility explain a relatively small share of the changes in living arrangements.
530			_aHardcopy version available to institutional subscribers
538			_aSystem requirements: Adobe [Acrobat] Reader required for PDF files.
538			_aMode of access: World Wide Web.
588	0		_aPrint version record
690		7	_aJ1 - Demographic Economics _2Journal of Economic Literature class.
690		7	_aN32 - U.S. • Canada: 1913- _2Journal of Economic Literature class.
700	1		_aSchoeni, Robert F. _920377
710	2		_aNational Bureau of Economic Research.
830		0	_aWorking Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) _vno. w6511.
856	4	0	_uhttps://www.nber.org/papers/w6511
856			_yAcceso en línea al DOI _uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.3386/w6511
942			_2ddc _cW-PAPER
999			_c341770 _d300332