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The Effect of Widowhood on Housing and Location Choices

Author

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  • Carole Bonnet

    (Crest)

  • Laurent Gobillon

    (Crest)

  • Anne Laferrere

    (Crest)

Abstract
The number of widows has been increasing with population ageing and their influenceon the housing market is getting larger. This paper investigates the effect of widowhoodon housing and location choices. A partner's death induces a decrease in incomewhich may lead to downsizing. Widowhood may also reveal new preferences, such asthe need to be close to care givers and health services. We estimate the effect of atransition to widowhood on housing consumption and location choices using the FrenchHousing Surveys. Widowhood significantly increases residential mobility, especially atolder ages and when having children. Mobile recent widows tend to live closer to theirrelatives but do not move to co-reside with a child. Housing and location adjustmentsare consistent with new widows moving to dwellings that are smaller, more oftenapartments and in the rental sector, and on average located in larger cities whereservices are more accessible.

Suggested Citation

  • Carole Bonnet & Laurent Gobillon & Anne Laferrere, 2008. "The Effect of Widowhood on Housing and Location Choices," Working Papers 2008-12, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    • Handle: RePEc:crs:wpaper:2008-12
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Viola Angelini & Anne Laferrère, 2012. "Residential Mobility of the European Elderly," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 58(3), pages 544-569, September.
    3. Zahia Ouadah-Bedidi, 2012. "Fécondité et nuptialité différentielles en Algérie : l'apport du recensement de 1998," Working Papers 185, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED).
    4. Ravi Pendakur & Nathan Young, 2013. "Putting on the moves," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 29(28), pages 767-796.
    5. Carlos Pestana Barros & Zhongfei Chen & Luis A. Gil-Alana, 2012. "Housing sales in urban Beijing," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(34), pages 4495-4504, December.
    6. Dolores Sesma Carlos & Michel Oris & Jan Kok, 2022. "Coping with ageing: An historical longitudinal study of internal return migrations later in life in the Netherlands," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(27), pages 767-808.
    7. Rosalind Edwards & Susie Weller & Emma Davidson & Lynn Jamieson, 2023. "Small Stories of Home Moves: A Gendered and Generational Breadth-and-Depth Investigation," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 28(1), pages 210-227, March.
    8. de Jong Petra & Brouwer Aleid, 2012. "Residential Mobility of Older Adults in the Dutch Housing Market: Do Individual Characteristics and Housing Attributes Have an Effect on Mobility?," European Spatial Research and Policy, Sciendo, vol. 19(1), pages 33-47, July.
    9. Zuzana Žilinčíková & Christine Schnor, 2021. "Who moves out and who keeps the home? Short-term and medium-term mobility consequences of grey divorce in Belgium," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 45(9), pages 291-328.
    10. Johannes Schuenemann & Holger Strulik & Timo Trimborn, 2020. "The Marriage Gap: Optimal Aging and Death in Partnerships," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 36, pages 158-176, April.
    11. Alexandra Schaffar & Michel Dimou & El Mouhoub Mouhoud, 2019. "The determinants of elderly migration in France," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 98(2), pages 951-972, April.
    12. Cris Beauchemin & Hugues Lagrange & Mirna Safi, 2011. "Transnationalism and immigrant assimilation in France : between here and there ?," Working Papers 172, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED).
    13. Xun Bian & Zhenguo Lin, 2022. "Housing debt and elderly housing tenure choices," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 50(5), pages 1360-1397, September.

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