Family matters: The impact of kin on the mortality of the elderly in ruralBangladesh

This study uses high quality longitudinal data on kin availability, proximi ty, and marital status from the Matlab surveillance area in rural Banglades h to explore the impact of kin members on the survival of the elderly over a six year period. The results - from discrete time hazard models- suggest that the presence of;a spouse, sons, and brothers substantially improves su rvivorship, but with differing effects by the sex of the elderly and the nu mber of sons and brothers. This study offers little support of any of the f ollowing as mechanisms by which kin affect the survival of the elderly: cha nges in the economic status of the elderly as proxied by land holdings; imp roved access to instrumental support as proxied by the marital status of so ns; decreases in social isolation as proxied by proximity of kin.