Living Arrangement Preferences in Southeast Asian Modern Societies

Living arrangements in modern societies in Southeast Asia are undergoing significant changes.  The decline in fertility, changing family structures, together with society’s changing socio-economic conditions all play a role in the change in living arrangements.  Against this backdrop, individual preferences regarding living arrangements play a key role in determining actual living arrangements.  This study investigates living arrangement preferences of individuals in these Southeast Asian societies: Kuala Lumpur and Selengor in Malaysia, Bangkok Metropolis in Thailand, and Hanoi in Vietnam.  Specifically, the study focuses on whether the respondent thinks it is desirable for three generations (older people, their married children, and grandchildren) to live together.  The study employs the Comparative Asian Family Survey (CAFS) datasets collected in Kuala Lumpur and Selengor, Bangkok Metropolis, and Hanoi during 2010-2011.  Each survey followed a multi-stage sampling approach.  For the family survey in Kuala Lumpur and Selengor, information was collected from 1,883 respondents aged 18 and above.  For the Bangkok family survey, 1,092 respondents aged 17 and above living in Bangkok Metropolis were interviewed.  For the Hanoi family survey, data was collected from 1,219 respondents aged 18 years and older.  Logistic regression analysis is employed, where the dependent variable is the answer to the question whether the respondent thinks it is desirable for three generations to live together.  The main independent variables include gender, age, education, marital status, and number of children.  Other control variables are also included.  Age is divided into groups to demonstrate different values of people in different generations.  Three separate regressions are run for each society.  As each society is undergoing different stages of demographic transition, the similarities and differences in the living arrangement preferences and their determinants are compared and contrasted.