Household Formations

Between 1960 and 1980, the number of households in the U.S. increased by 50 percent and the proportion of the population that were household heads rose from 29.5 to 36.3. While some of this increase was due to the maturing of the"baby boom" population, over half was caused by rising age-specific headship rates. In contrast, between 1980 and 1983, headship rates fell sharply for the under 34 population. This paper explains household formations due to changes in headship rates in terms of changes in real income and the price of privacy.