Housing Wealth, Debt, and Health and Wellbeing among Older Homeowners

Many older Americans partially self-insure against the risks of older age by accumulating assets, the most significant for many being home equity. A series of projects co-authored with Stephanie Moulton, Donald Haurin, Cäzilia Loibl, and colleagues investigate how housing wealth and mortgage debt influence the health and well-being of older adult homeowners. We find that access to credit in the form of mortgage borrowing is a key mechanism linking housing wealth to economic security and better health. Papers from this research have been published in Social Science & Medicine and The Journals of Gerontology Series B.