Mobility behavior of the elderly

Mobility patterns of the elderly provide a particularly interesting theoretical subcase of a more general migration model which interacts individual-specific traits (e.g., health and retirement status) and location-specific traits (e.g., amenities, rents, and wages). The spatially invariant incomes (pensions, dividends, etc.) of the retired are shown to lead to migration toward areas where the wage and rent compensation for amenities (necessary for spatial equilibrium) occurs primarily in the labor market, rather than in the land market. Empirical evidence appears to be consistent with theoretical expectations; more investigation, however, is clearly desirable.