Working Paper: NBER ID: w1390
Authors: Patric H. Hendershott; Marc Smith
Abstract: Between 1960 and 1980, the number of households in the U.S. increased by 50 percent and the proportion of the population that were household heads rose from 29.5 to 36.3. While some of this increase was due to the maturing of the"baby boom" population, over half was caused by rising age-specific headship rates. In contrast, between 1980 and 1983, headship rates fell sharply for the under 34 population. This paper explains household formations due to changes in headship rates in terms of changes in real income and the price of privacy.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: No JEL codes provided
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| increase in divorce rates (J12) | increased number of individual households (R20) |
| increase in divorce rates (J12) | complex effect on total households (D19) |
| rising real incomes (E25) | increased age-specific headship rates (J19) |
| declining real prices of housing services (R31) | increased age-specific headship rates (J19) |
| increased age-specific headship rates (J19) | higher household formations (R20) |
| real disposable income per capita rose (F62) | potential households better able to establish new households (R20) |
| lower real prices of housing services (R31) | more individuals forming households (J12) |