Patterns and Determinants of Living Arrangements for the Elderly in Vietnam

By using the Vietnam Living Standard Surveys in 1992/93 and 1997/98, and the Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys in 2002 and 2004, this paper describes the patterns of living arrangements for the elderly in Vietnam and examines the determinants of such arrangements during the past decade. We apply multinomial analysis techniques for these research purposes. The estimated results show that family structures in Vietnam have generally been maintained despite profound social and economic changes since Doi moi, as the proportion of elderly who were living with their children was high. The findings also indicate that the elderly’s decisions about whom to live with depended on various factors, including age, gender, marital status, urbanity, and home ownership. Nevertheless, some undesirable trends are emerging, such as a decline of elderly dependent on others, and a rise in elderly living alone.