Litwak and Longino’s Developmental Model of Later-Life Migration: Evidence From the American Community Survey, 2005–2007

Abstract

The present study revisits Litwak and Longino’s seminal article, “Migration Patterns among the Elderly: A Developmental Perspective.” Data from the American Community Survey, 2005—2007 are exploited to partially replicate and build on the original study. Findings indicate that Florida later-life migrant exchanges with selected states in the Northeast and Midwest appear to be characterized by positively selected in-bound streams and negatively selected out-bound streams, consistent with the results reported by Litwak and Longino. The “amenity in-migrant, assistance out-migrant” pattern is also evident in the exchange of older migrants between Florida and other regions, excepting the West. Older in-migrants to Arizona from the Midwest and West similarly appear to be positively selected compared to their out-bound counterparts leaving Arizona for destinations in those same regions. Implications of these results are discussed together with study limitations and directions for further research.