This proposal, which is in response to the NIA program announcement on the """"""""Causes and Effects of Elderly Population Concentrations, PA-92-62,"""""""" is concerned with elderly immigrants and foreign-born residents of the U.S., both those who enter at younger ages and mature in the U.S. and those who enter during their later years. Little is known about elderly foreign- born persons, either in and of themselves or relative to their native counterparts. The proposed research would: 1) describe the volume and composition of elderly U.S. immigrants, including who they are, where they come from, and by what immigrant class they gain entry into the U.S with annual tracking from 1972 to and beyond 1990; 2) model the determinants of their immigration as a function of other source-country specific immigration, availability of various social programs in source countries and their transferability, economic differentials, and more and also model the age composition of U.S. immigration, 1972-1990 (and beyond); 3) describe the U.S, settlement patterns of elderly immigrants and foreign born, of both current and earlier cohorts, including their internal migration patterns; 4) model the determinants of the settlement patterns of immigrant and foreign-born elderly persons; and 5) describe and analyze the participation of elderly foreign-born persons in social programs relative to otherwise comparable native-born persons. The study would use INS microdata, Census microdata, and a number of additional data sources. A variety of econometric techniques would be necessary, including methods of studying panel data and methods of analyzing microdata, with selectivity corrections. Given their growing volume and concentration, the use of public services by elderly foreign-born persons is an obvious public concern. By focusing on the use of various public services by the elderly foreign born and providing empirical evidence regarding age-related programs, the proposed research will greatly broaden our understanding of the impacts of elderly foreign-born persons, distinguished by country of birth and entry cohort.
