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Poverty Among The Elderly: An Application of a Collective Consumption Model in Brazil

Author

Listed:
  • Guilherme Fonseca Travassos

    (Universidade Federal de Viçosa)

  • Alexandre Bragança Coelho

    (Universidade Federal de Viçosa)

  • Mary Paula Arends-Kuenning

    (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Abstract

The growth of the elderly population and changes in household composition raise important questions regarding the level of well-being of the elderly in developing countries. Traditional analyses of poverty often ignore the question of intra-household distribution of resources. This paper is the first to apply a collective consumption model to analyze the level of well-being of the elderly in Brazil. Our results indicate that living in a couple is associated with considerable economies of scale and that wive’s shares are increasing as total expenditures increase. We find that, in Brazil, elderly women experience a considerable decrease in material well-being when living alone, compared to elderly men. Finally, we conclude that disregarding the intra-household distribution of resources results in both underestimates and overestimates poverty among the elderly in Brazil.

Suggested Citation

  • Guilherme Fonseca Travassos & Alexandre Bragança Coelho & Mary Paula Arends-Kuenning, 2022. "Poverty Among The Elderly: An Application of a Collective Consumption Model in Brazil," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 925-951, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:163:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-022-02932-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-022-02932-7
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