Living Arrangements of Immigrants in Spain: Strategies of Support in Times of Economic Crisis

Xiana Bueno, Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics (CED)

Living arrangements of migrants and non-migrants are often suggested to differ and the role networks play in facilitating the settlement as well as the potentially stronger intergenerational ties in migrant families has been raised as explanations. However, changing economic conditions may have an additional influence on how living arrangements are shaped among already settled immigrants. In this paper we question how and to what extent the economic crisis in Spain is reflected in the living arrangements and household structure of international migrants. Among this numerically large regional origin group women have played an important pioneer role allowing for a more gendered perspective. We use data from the Spanish Labor Force Survey 2005-2012 and apply descriptive and multivariate analysis including detailed information on the individual and all household members resulting in more advanced understanding on how households and living arrangements among Latin American migrants are affected in times of crisis.