A comparative analysis of leaving home in the United States, the Netherlands and West Germany

Clara Mulder, William A.V. Clark and Michael Wagner
Additional contact information
Clara Mulder: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
William A.V. Clark: University of California, Los Angeles
Michael Wagner: Universität zu Köln

Demographic Research, 2002, vol. 7, issue 17, 565-592

Abstract: We investigate how leaving the parental home differs between three countries with different welfare-state and housing systems: the USA, the Netherlands and West Germany. Using longitudinal survey data, we examine the transitions of leaving home to live with and without a partner. We find that, much more than in the European countries, union formation has become separated from leaving home in the USA. We also find a different impact of level of education and employment status on leaving-home patterns in the European countries with their social-welfare state system than in the US system in which market forces prevail. The differences are not just related to welfare-state systems but also to the sizes of the countries and the geographical dispersion of jobs and educational opportunities.

Keywords: Germany; household; Netherlands; United States of America; leaving the parental home; union formation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:dem:demres:v:7:y:2002:i:17

DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2002.7.17

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