Proximity, Gender and Financial Support Received by Older Adults in Urban Latin America and the Caribbean: A Comparative Study

Nekehia T. Quashie, University of Utah

This study extends recent research on the relationship between residential proximity and support older adults receive from their children by providing a comparative assessment of the location of the nearest child and older adults’ receipts of financial transfers in seven different cities across Latin America and the Caribbean. The paper further examines the extent to which financial transfers are contingent on parental need; the gender of the parent; and the gender of the child. Data (N=9,297) are drawn from the 2000 Survey of Health, Well-Being and Ageing in Latin America and the Caribbean (SABE). The results highlight the importance of co-residence in the receipt of financial transfers across the seven cities but non-coresidence does not necessarily inhibit support. In all cities, except Buenos Aires, older women are more likely than men to receive support. Parents’ higher likelihoods of receiving financial support from sons did not hold across all cities.