Public Assistance and Single-Person Households among the Elderly in Japan : Evidence from Prefectural-Level Data

This study examines how regional variations in the proportion of elderly one-person households in fluence regional differences in the public assistance rate for the elderly, using prefecture-level data. We show that a positive correlation between elderly single-male households and the public assistance rate for the elderly exists even when prefectural fixed effects are considered. However, no significant effect was found between elderly single- female households and the public assistance rate. We also confirmed that there a significantly positive relationship between these variables after 2000 or in large cities exist, while no effect was found before 1995 or in rural areas. These results suggest that, since the late 1990s, the number of elderly one-person households has been increasing due to ongoing urbanization in Japanese society, accompanied by a decline in cohabitation and a weakening of family ties for risk-sharing. This suggests that the increase in elderly one-person households may be directly linked to the public assistance rate for the elderly.