Living arrangements of older persons in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, there is no formal institutional support system for the vast majority of the elderly. Only former government employees receive pension or survivor benefits. Where formal systems are not well developed, coresidence is ordinarily the main mechanism by which families meet the needs of the elderly. The household structure in which the elderly live thus matters for their general well-being. In this dissertation I ask two major questions: Is there evidence of change in the levels and patterns of living arrangements of the elderly in Ethiopia between 1984 and 1994? To what extent do individual traits, community characteristics and policy contexts relate to living arrangements? Being guided by four theories on aging (demographic forces, economic opportunities & constraints, cultural preferences, ecological models) and using microsamples data from the 1984 and 1994 censuses, different indicators of living arrangements are operationalized and changes therein and their correlates are examined.; Aggregate group comparisons through percentage distributions and direct demographic standardization techniques, and individual level statistical models that use binomial and multinomial regressions yield the following major findings: (1) there is evidence of profound change in the structure of the elderly households between 1984 and 1994, i.e., (a) living in extended households substantially declined and (b) the major drivers of shifts towards elderly family nucleation are declining coresidence with married children and increasing coresidence with unmarried adult children staying longer at parents home---more likely reflect land and housing policy variation between the two most recent Ethiopian regimes; (2) Relative to married children, coresidence with unmarried children is less likely for female, older or those with fewer living children---pointing to the importance of demographic theories. Being unmarried or having some disability increases coresidence with married children---indicating need based living arrangements. Ethnicity, community ethnoreligious diversity and areas of residence are also significant cultural and ecological features distinguishing living arrangements of the elderly in Ethiopia.; This dissertation informs theories of living arrangements and discusses policy implications in relation to the elderly in a traditional African society undergoing huge social changes and the disruption of the family institution (not related to development).