The Regional Dimension of Intergenerational Proximity in the Netherlands

Abstract

Previous research has shown the impact of individual characteristics on intergenerational proximity but has largely ignored the regional dimension of such proximity. In this paper, we examine the regional variation in intergenerational proximity in the Netherlands. We address this issue by incorporating indicators of urbanisation and regional culture in an analysis of the likelihood that adult children live within daily reach (within a distance of 5 or 20 km) of their older parents. We also depict the spatial variation in intergenerational proximity in maps. Employing logistic regression on nearly 5 million parent-child dyads extracted from register data, we find that the degree of urbanisation of the residential municipality of the two generations shows contrasting effects: a positive association for the degree of urbanisation of the parents' municipality, a negative association for the children's. Older parents living in areas in which more conservative and collectivist attitudes prevail are more likely to have their adult children living close to them. After accounting for the municipality dummies, the explanatory power of the model improves considerably. However, substantial spatial variation in intergenerational proximity remains largely unexplained after controlling for the regional characteristics.

Residential proximity of parents and their adult offspring in the United Kingdom, 2009–10

“…22 As noted earlier, contrary to what is found for the Netherlands by Rainer and Siedler (2012), evidence from the large sample in van der Pers and Mulder (2012) indicates that the only children indeed live closer to their parents. relatively modest.…”

“…Mulder, 2007;Mulder and Cooke, 2009;Mulder and van der Meer, 2009;Michielin et al, 2008;Blaauboer et al, 2011;van der Pers and Mulder, 2012).…”

“…Matched pairs data can also be gathered from administrative registers (e.g. van der Pers and Mulder, 2012;Holmlund et al, 2013). One distinct advantage of register data is their very large sample size.…”

The impact of regional economic performance on intergenerational geographical distance in China

“…An extensive body of literature has discussed the impact of social, demographic, and cultural factors on intergenerational geographical distance (Hank, ; Mulder & Kalmijn, ; Rogerson, Weng, & Lin, ; Silverstein, ). However, the regional economic dimension of such intergenerational geographical distances has been largely ignored (van der Pers & Mulder, ). The few studies that have shed light on regional economic factors have mainly focused on developed countries (Broek, Dykstra, & Schenk, ; Hank, ; Michielin & Mulder, ; Mulder & Kalmijn, ; van der Pers & Mulder, ).…”

“…However, the regional economic dimension of such intergenerational geographical distances has been largely ignored (van der Pers & Mulder, ). The few studies that have shed light on regional economic factors have mainly focused on developed countries (Broek, Dykstra, & Schenk, ; Hank, ; Michielin & Mulder, ; Mulder & Kalmijn, ; van der Pers & Mulder, ). In this paper, we explore the impact of regional economic factors on intergenerational geographical distance and the implications for family support in China.…”