Rethinking Family-Based Welfare: The Impacts of Intergenerational Co-Residence across Households

Welfare systems in high-income countries have undergone significant restructuring in recent decades. The shift of risk and responsibility from the state to individuals has significantly influenced household dynamics, strengthening the economic role of family units as they must come together to meet their own needs. One manifestation of this shift is the rise in intergenerational co-residence, with young adults increasingly needing to delay home-leaving, or move back home after periods of independence. While existing research has explored the social patterns of co-residence and its impact on young adults, there is limited understanding of its broader effects on entire households, particularly on parents who bear increased responsibilities for housing and supporting their adult children. Using survey data from the early 2000s, this paper examines the implications of prolonged co-residence across generations, focusing on its effects on family finances, mental health, and overall well-being. It focuses on the socio-economic patterning of these outcomes, revealing how families' capacity to accommodate young adults varies according to space and resources. The case is the Netherlands, a country which has long supported pathways to independent living but has seen mounting constraints in the housing market and beyond that have reinvigorated dependence on the parental home into adulthood. As such, this study sheds light on how recent economic pressures and policy shifts have changed living patterns across generations - and to what effects. The findings contribute to the broader discourse on family-based welfare by illustrating how the retraction of state support has impacted intergenerational support mechanisms, with implications across generations and beyond the realm of housing.