Home-ownership and housing wealth of elderly divorcees in ten European countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
BAREND WIND ◽  
CAROLINE DEWILDE
Keyword(s):  
Home Ownership ◽  
Rental Housing ◽  
Later Life ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Housing Wealth ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Empirical Analysis ◽  
Housing Equity

ABSTRACTRecent research has shown that divorce reduces the likelihood of home-ownership. Even in later life, ever-divorced men and women display lower home-ownership rates than their married counterparts. There is, however, a lack of knowledge about the consequences of divorce for a majority of divorcees: those who remain in home-ownership or move back into home-ownership after an episode in rental housing. This paper investigates the economic costs of divorce by focusing on the housing wealth of ever-divorced home-owners in later life (age 50 and over), against the background of changing welfare and housing regimes. The empirical analysis is based on data from ten European countries that participated in the third and fourth waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE 2007/8 and 2011/2). Our analyses support an association between divorce experience and lower housing wealth holdings for men and women who remain in home-ownership after a divorce, or re-enter home-ownership after a spell in rental housing. This means that a divorce has negative housing consequences for a broader range of individuals than thus far assumed. In countries with a dynamic housing market and a deregulated housing finance system, ever-divorced home-owners are worse off than their married counterparts. In these countries, more elderly individuals with a weaker financial situation are able to remain in or regain access to (mortgaged) home-ownership, but at the cost of lower housing equity. Further research should focus on the implications (e.g. for wellbeing, economic position) of such cross-country variations.

Socio-economic position and quality of life among older people in 10 European countries: results of the SHARE study

2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
OLAF VON DEM KNESEBECK ◽  
MORTEN WAHRENDORF ◽  
MARTIN HYDE ◽  
JOHANNES SIEGRIST
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older People ◽  
Home Ownership ◽  
Later Life ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Car Ownership ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Net Worth ◽  
Economic Position

This study examines associations between quality of life and multiple indicators of socio-economic position among people aged 50 or more years in 10 European countries, and analyses whether the relative importance of the socio-economic measures vary by age. The data are from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in 2004. 15,080 cases were analysed. Quality of life was measured by a short version of the CASP-19 questionnaire, which represents quality of life as comprising four conceptual domains of individual needs that are particularly relevant in later life: control (C), autonomy (A), self-realisation (S) and pleasure (P). The short version has 12 items (three for each domain). Five indicators of socio-economic position were used: income, education, home ownership, net worth, and car ownership. A multiple logistic regression showed that quality of life was associated with socio-economic position, but that the associations varied by country. Relatively small socio-economic differences in quality of life were observed for Switzerland, but comparatively large differences in Germany. Education, income, net worth, and car ownership consistently related to quality of life, but the association of home ownership was less consistent. There was no indication that the socio-economic differences in quality of life diminished after retirement (i.e. from 65+ years). Conventional measures of socio-economic position (education and income), as well as alternative indicators (car ownership and household net worth), usefully identified the differential risks of poor quality of life among older people before and after the conventional retirement age.

scholarly journals Releasing Housing Equity in Later Life: Markets, Consumers and the Role of the State

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorna Fox O’Mahony ◽  
Louise Overton
Keyword(s):  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Later Life ◽  
The State ◽  
Housing Wealth ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Consumer Interests ◽  
Policy Agendas ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Housing Equity

The role of equity release transactions in enabling older owners to draw down on their housing wealth to meet needs and wants in later life is a prominent policy trope in many asset-based welfare systems. Framed by the enactment of the Consumer Credit Legislation Amendment (Enhancement) Act 2012 (Cth) – in which the Federal Government established regulatory jurisdiction over reverse mortgage transactions – and drawing on empirical research into the uses and risks of housing equity withdrawal mechanisms in Australia,1 this article compares the recent Australian experience of equity release with the longer-established UK equity release market. Reaching across the demographic, socio-economic and policy contexts which are widely regarded as setting the scene for increasing use of housing wealth to fund financial needs after retirement, to the nature and development of equity release markets, this article draws on the UK experience to reflect on patterns of supply and demand, on the needs, circumstances and objectives of the equity release consumer population, and on the role of the state, through law and policy, in mediating the transactional interface between consumers and markets to support the matrix of consumer interests, industry growth and related government policy agendas implicated in the equity release market.

The determinants of lifelong learning incidence across European countries (evidence from EU-SILC dataset)

2013 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Biagetti ◽  
Sergio Scicchitano
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Temporary Workers ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Country Specific

The aim of this paper is to explore the potential of EU-SILC data to deepen our understanding of the determinants of workers’ formal lifelong learning (LLL) incidence in Europe. To this purpose, a twofold procedure is adopted here: first, LLL incidence is estimated for the total number of men and women taken separately, regardless of their country of residence; second, the information on the country where they live is taken into account and 21 country-specific equations are computed. Again, this is made for both sexes. This procedure allows us to shed light on cross-country gender differences. In the whole sample, our results show that for both men and women formal LLL incidence is significantly higher among young, better-educated, part-time and temporary workers, and lower among those who changed their job in the preceding year, are employed in small firms and have low-skilled occupations. When the above-mentioned separate equations are estimated for each country and for both sexes, relevant results emerge in the case of Scandinavian countries. Those results seem to be consistent with the implementation of the well-known “flexicurity” policy.

scholarly journals Offspring and later-life loneliness in Eastern and Western Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2-2019) ◽  
pp. 199-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thijs van den Broek ◽  
Marco Tosi ◽  
Emily Grundy
Keyword(s):  
Protective Effect ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Later Life ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Western European

Later-life loneliness is increasingly recognized as an important public health issue. In this study, we examine whether having more children and grandchildren is protective against later life loneliness in a group of Eastern and Western European countries. Drawing on data from the Generation and Gender Surveys, we estimated logistic regression models of the likelihood of being lonely among men and women aged 65 and older. The results showed a negative association between number of children and loneliness among men and women in both Eastern-European and Western-European countries. A mediation analysis performed using the KHB decomposition method showed that grandparenthood status partly explained differences in the loneliness risks of childless women, mothers with one child and those with two or more children. Among men, the mediating role of grandparenthood was significant in Eastern Europe and marginally significant in Western countries. Given the relatively strong reliance of older people on the family in Eastern Europe, we expected that the protective effects of offspring on loneliness would be stronger in Eastern-European countries than in Western-European countries. This hypothesis was supported only in part by our results. The protective effect of having four or more children was larger in the East than in the West. Overall, our findings indicate that having close family members, including more children and at least one grandchild, has a protective effect against later-life loneliness in both country clusters considered.

scholarly journals Later life in rental housing: current New Zealand issues

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Keeling
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Older People ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Home Ownership ◽  
Rental Housing ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Development Work ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Local Research

Historically, New Zealand has had relatively high rates of home ownership, with widely held aspirations for mortgagefree tenure in later life. As a consequence, examination of the small but growing numbers of older renters has been limited (Nana et al., 2009, p.20). This article draws together local research, commissioned policy development work and comparative evidence to identify the characteristics of older people in rental accommodation, current and projected issues and potential policy issues.

scholarly journals Attitudes towards housing equity release strategies among older home owners: A European comparison

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joris Hoekstra ◽  
Kees Dol
Keyword(s):  
Home Ownership ◽  
House Prices ◽  
Housing Wealth ◽  
Focus Group Research ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
International Comparative ◽  
Housing Equity ◽  
Release Strategy ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Country Specific

AbstractThe ageing of European societies, the mounting pressure on pension systems, the rise of home ownership and the growth in house prices have sparked interest in housing equity release options and strategies. Much of the available literature approaches this topic through a financial lens, focusing on equity release schemes as a way to free up housing equity while remaining in the dwelling. However, there are also other ways in which housing wealth can be extracted, such as downsizing, moving to a rental dwelling or subletting part of the dwelling. There is very little recent international comparative insight into the perceptions and preferences of older home owners with regard to this matter. Which housing equity release strategy do they prefer and why? And to what extent is their decision to release housing equity influenced by the bequest motive? Based on focus group research in six European countries (Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hungary, Italy and the Netherlands), this paper observes some general trends and identifies a number of country specific variations.

scholarly journals How important is security in the choice of employment? Evidence from European countries

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frédéric Salladarré ◽  
Boubaker Hlaimi ◽  
François-Charles Wolff
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Job Security ◽  
Comparative Data ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Temporary Workers ◽  
Is Security ◽  
Country Differences ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
The Empirical Analysis ◽  
Employment Characteristics

Is job security important for workers when choosing a job? Using comparative data from 18 European countries, this article investigates the influence of job security in the choice of employment. The empirical analysis evidences significant cross-country differences in the importance attributed to job security, which is influenced by both individual and employment characteristics. When comparing the perceived job security and its importance in the choice of employment, the study finds that temporary workers are less sensitive to job security when choosing their job.

scholarly journals Did Lockdown Work? An Economist’s Cross-Country Comparison

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Bjørnskov
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rates ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Country Comparison ◽  
Clear Association ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Two Indices ◽  
Cross Country

Abstract I explore the association between the severity of lockdown policies in the first half of 2020 and mortality rates. Using two indices from the Blavatnik Centre’s COVID-19 policy measures and comparing weekly mortality rates from 24 European countries in the first halves of 2017–2020, addressing policy endogeneity in two different ways, and taking timing into account, I find no clear association between lockdown policies and mortality development.

scholarly journals Inclusionary Housing: An Evaluation of a New Public Rental Housing Governance Instrument in China

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 305
Author(s):  
Juan Yan ◽  
Marietta Haffner ◽  
Marja Elsinga
Keyword(s):  
Housing Market ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Rental Housing ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Inclusionary Housing ◽  
The Cost

Inclusionary housing (IH) is a regulatory instrument adopted by local governments in many countries to produce affordable housing by capturing resources created through the marketplace. In order to assess whether it is efficient, scholarly attention has been widely focused on its evaluation. However, there is a lack of studies evaluating IH from a governance perspective. Since IH is about involving private actors in affordable housing production, the governance point of view of cooperating governmental and non-governmental actors governing society to achieve societal goals is highly relevant. The two most important elements of governance—actors and interrelationships among these actors—are taken to build an analytical framework to explore and evaluate the governance of IH. Based on a research approach that combines a literature review and a case study of China, this paper concludes that the ineffective governance of Chinese IH is based on three challenges: (1) The distribution of costs and benefits across actors is unequal since private developers bear the cost, but do not enjoy the increments of land value; (2) there is no sufficient compensation for developers to offset the cost; and (3) there is no room for negotiations for flexibility in a declining market. Given that IH is favored in many Chinese cities, this paper offers the policy implications: local governments should bear more costs of IH, rethink their relations with developers, provide flexible compliance options for developers, and perform differently in a flourishing housing market and a declining housing market.

scholarly journals Scandinavian Approaches to Begging as a Policy Problem and the Double Insider/Outsider Status of Marginalized Intra-EU Migrants

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
KARIN BOREVI
Keyword(s):  
Legal Status ◽  
Criminal Policy ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Immigration Control ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Policy Problem ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
The Empirical Analysis

Abstract The present article investigates how begging performed by citizens of new EU-member states in Eastern Europe was debated in parliaments in Denmark, Sweden and Norway during the period 2007–2017. The empirical analysis shows significant cross-country divergences: In Denmark, efforts targeted controlling migration, either directly or indirectly, via various deterrence strategies. In Sweden, the emphasis was rather on alleviating social needs while migrants reside in the country and trying to decrease their incentives to migrate in the first place by ameliorating conditions in sending countries. In Norway, one predominant framing revolved around the issue of human trafficking of beggars. Despite substantial differences, the analyses show a gradual shift in a similar direction in all three countries. While a social frame was initially more commonly understood as the appropriate way to approach begging, over time a criminal frame has gained ground in all three countries. The article argues that this development must be understood in light of marginalized intra-EU migrants’ legal status as both insiders and outsiders in the Scandinavian welfare states. Due to these individuals’ “in-between status”, neither conventional social policy nor immigration control measures are perceived as available, making policymakers more prone to turn to criminal policy tools.

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