Elderly Local Mobility

Abstract

The literature in the area of elderly local mobility is relatively sparse, and the empirical studies are mostly period-based, "social characteristics"-oriented descriptive studies. This article develops hypotheses regarding the relationships of mover characteristics, described repeatedly in the literature, and elderly local mobility rates. These hypotheses are tested using 1940-1980 U.S. Census public use sample microdata files, which make it possible to examine these relationships within periods, age groups, and period-of-birth cohorts. A major purpose of this article is to demonstrate the usefulness of longitudinal and cohort approaches.