UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) The elderly can play an
important role in preserving com
munities with stagnant or declin
ing populations, but their impact
appears to be much less on eco
nomic growth, suggests research
conducted in Penn State’s College
of Agricultural Sciences.
To determine whether attract
ing more retirees to Pennsylva
nia’s rural areas would be a useful
development strategy, agricultural
economists analyzed employ
ment, considered local tax im
pacts, and conducted case studies
in four rural Pennsylvania coun
ties, including two with large
numbers of relocated retirees and
two whose elderly populations
contain more long-time residents.
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Retired Population Has Mixed Impact
A total of 1,200 people were in
terviewed by telephone, and 43
government officials, business
leaders and service providers were
interviewed in person.
“Some rural communities are
benefiting from an influx of
wealthy retirees, but the mixed re
sults of our study- indicate that it
may not woik for all communi
ties,” says Dr. Timothy Kelsey,
assistant professor of agricultural
economics.
“Elderly and retired people' are
a major presence in rural Pennsyl
vania,” Kelsey notes.. “Pennsylva
nia has a higher percentage of eld
erly residents than any other state
except Florida. Several counties
have received sizable numbers of
relocating retirees, and these
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counties also are among the most
economically dynamic in the
slate.”
But the economic impacts of
the elderly are mixed, Kelsey
says. “We found specific effects ip
local economies, but there is little
evidence of large, direct benefits
resulting from retirees relocating
to Pennsylvania, Elderly and retir
ed residents in rural communities
can help existing downtowns sur
vive, but usually cannot be relied
on as a catatlyst for downtown re
surgence or expansion.
"Our results suggests that the
elderly support local merchants to
a greater extent than the general
population does.” Kelsey says.
“But older people tend to spend
less than the general population.
which reduces the positive im
pacts of their local shopping hab
its.”
The study found evidence of
more service-sector employment
in communities with higher per
centages of elderly growth, but (he
evidence was inconclusive.
“Many of the jobs resulting
from retirees were low-wage ser
vice jobs providing few if any
benefits,” Kelsey says. “These in
cluded health aides, nursing home
attendants and personal-home
care workers. Low reimburse
ments from Medicare and Medi
caid limit the ability to increase
the pay for such positions.”
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 14, 1994-817
little from growing elderly and re
tired populations, because their in
come is largely exempt from both
local and state taxation. “In the
telephone survey, 61 percent of
the income of die aged-in-place
and 67 percent of the in-migrant
elderly’s income was exempt from
taxation because it was from So
cial Security or pensions,” Kelsey
says.
“Continued growth in the num
ber of elderly may further strain
the state’s ability to meet the
needs of the elderly without pro
viding a means to pay for their
care.”
This research was supported by
the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
CONTACT:
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NJ 08865
908/454-7900
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