Changes in Household Living Arrangements 1950-76

Interfamily Transfers as Alternatives to Government Transfers to Persons*

“…These data indicate that the number of parents (of any age) living in the household of a child has declined from roughly 2.8 million persons in 1950 to about 1.7 million in 1980, despite the rapid increase in the elderly population, particularly those over age 80, during this period. This trend also reveals itself in the tremendous, nearly sevenfold, increase in the number of unrelated individuals who are living alone, and corroborates the evidence given by Michael, Fuchs, and Scott (1978). A final piece of evidence which speaks to the desirability of this trend is the finding of Morgan et ale (1962) Despite the rapid growth in the number of households in Table A.1 which these simultaneous developments have encouraged, Table 2 Table 2.· Another reason, to which we turn, is the form of the transfer.…”