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Colonias, Informal Homestead Subdivisions, and Self-Help Care for the Elderly Among Mexican Populations in the United States

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The Health of Aging Hispanics

Abstract

In this chapter the aim is to explore briefly how Mexican low-income households traditionally care for their elderly parent populations and to examine the intersection between changing demography, household structure, tenure, and dwelling arrangements. This chapter will inform how we start thinking about housing and parental care dynamics and the way they may be changing with the demographic changes of the last few decades. The demographic transition that began in the 1970s shifted the population age structure from one of heavy dependency of the young from the 1960s through 1980s to one in which dependency ratios are shared more equally between young and the older cohorts. Who will care for the elderly given the low level of formal care provision offered by the formal sector for the elderly in Mexico? In particular, how will low-income households earning less than the equivalent of $10 a day support and provide for their parents in old age?

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Ward, P.M. (2007). Colonias, Informal Homestead Subdivisions, and Self-Help Care for the Elderly Among Mexican Populations in the United States. In: Angel, J.L., Whitfield, K.E. (eds) The Health of Aging Hispanics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-47208-9_11

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