Economic Hardship Among Elderly Pacific Islanders in the United States

There is a well established research literature on elderly subpopulations that are at risk of poverty within the United States. Despite this body of research, little work has been done and little is known about the economic status of elderly Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (NHPI). This knowledge gap partly reflects the limited number of researchers actively engaged in the study of this small but rapidly growing component of the U.S. population but it is also driven by the general lack of survey data that allows for stochastic study of NHPI groups. This study addresses this need, presenting baseline information on the poverty status of NHPI elders living in the United States and how individual and household characteristics impact their economic well-being. As we know little quantitatively about the characteristics of NHPI elders, this analysis also introduces baseline indicators that measure ethnic heterogeneity within the NHPI population and shows how the risk of poverty varies across ethnicity even for this numerically small population. Using data extracted from the 2000 Census PUMS files we examine the poverty status of elderly NHPI's using income information collected for the year 1999 as part of the 2000 Census long form questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression is employed to predict the likelihood of an elderly NHPI being in poverty. The analysis finds that both Samoan and Other Pacific Islander elderly have a higher risk of living in poverty as of 1999 when compared to Native Hawaiian and Guamanian elderly.