Table 14 - uploaded by Laurence J. Kotlikoff
Content may be subject to copyright.
Source publication
![Table 1 ]. continued Contact with Family Last Week](profile/Laurence-Kotlikoff-2/publication/5190366/figure/tbl12/AS:652228549427212@1532514812279/continued-Contact-with-Family-Last-Week_Q320.jpg)
This paper presents some preliminary findings about contact between the aged and their children based on a new survey of the aged and their children, entitled The Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged-NBER (HRC-NBER) Child Survey. Data on extended families is quite limited. The HRC-NBER Child Survey represents one of the few attempts to collect...
Citations
... Some studies also suggest that individuals use bequests to influence children's behavior such as gaining their attention and/or paying for services provided by their children; this is called the "strategic bequest motive" (Bernheim et al., 1985). The empirical results are mixed, as some evidence supports the strategic bequest motive (Angelini, 2007;Bernheim et al., 1985;Cox, 1987;Cox & Rank, 1992;Horioka et al., 2018;Kotlikoff & Morris, 1989;Yamada, 2006), while other evidence does not (Arrondel & Masson, 2001;Perozek, 1998;Sloan et al., 1997;Tomes, 1981). ...
A better understanding of the reasons for bequests can be pivotal for fiscal policy and wealth inequality management, as the different motives underlying bequest behavior have varied implications. This study examines bloodline-based indirect reciprocity in bequest attitudes over three generations. In doing so, it extends the family tradition model to a bloodline-based family tradition model. This extended model suggests that the source of the inheritance impacts the amount of the bequest left to one’s children or spouse. To test the hypothesis, this study empirically analyzes survey data from the 2009 wave of the Preference Parameters Study for Japan. The results suggest that with some socioeconomic characteristics controlled for, those who have received an inheritance from their parents are more likely to intend to bequest as much as possible to their children, while Japanese females (males) who have received an inheritance from their spouse’s parents are more likely to intend to bequest as much as possible to both their children and their spouse (their spouse only). Hence, the source of the inheritance does matter in bequest attitudes, suggesting bloodline-based indirect reciprocity in bequest attitudes.
... Studies have shown that demographic factors also have a major impact on saving money, resulting in recommendations that most working households should save money, due to new reforms that may come in the future [Kotlikoff and Morris 1989, Wiatrowski 1993, Sterns, 1998, Ferraro 1999, Kleinman et al. 1999]. Additional research concluded that the economic growth of households is influenced by the financial behavior of individuals in managing their budget in relation to savings [Sonuga and Webley 1993, Furnham 1999, Karlan and Morduch 2009. ...
To reflect the financial situation of households, especially for emergencies, the main purpose of this research is to analyze financial behavior in relation to savings. This research explains the interaction
of minimum savings rules and committed forms of saving, which means that the use of personal budgets depends on financial behavior due to insecurity and the financial situation of families. The research
is consistent with some empirical findings on financial behavior in relation to savings, which affect the
growth or decline of the economy, because the lower the well-being of families the lower the economic growth or vice versa. The validation of the hypotheses was realized through the analysis of field findings, using the econometric model of savings in relation to financial behavior through factor analysis, reliability analysis and multiple regression analysis. The main finding of this research is the lack of financial behavior to save for emergencies. These findings are important in order for households to be aware
of financial behavior in relation to savings, because there is no emergency fund to cover their needs.
Key words: Savings, financial behavior, multiple regression analysis, households, growth and decline economics.
JEL codes: C1, R12, M4
... The economic literature has linked the crowding in argument to the exchange theory which posits that one gives to others because one expects them to give in return. Therefore, one of the reasons that adult children support their parents despite a growing welfare state is because they are likely to benefit from the parents (e.g., bequest motive) (Cox et al., 2004;Kotlikoff & Morris, 1989). Moreover, since affection is an important motive for intergenerational transfers, the rules of exchange in intimate and stable relationships such as those between parents and children permit reciprocity to take place over a long period of time instead of as a transaction on the spot (Antonucci & Jackson, 1990). ...
Thailand is among the few developing countries that provide social pension for a significant majority of its older adults. In 2009, the government amended the Old-Age Allowance (OAA) scheme from a means-tested to a near-universal social pension program. Analyzing nationally representative data from the Surveys of Older Persons in Thailand, we found significant changes over the last decade in the patterns of old-age income sources and filial economic support for parents aged 60 and above. Results show the declining importance of children and the rising significance of OAA as the primary income source. Yet, reliance on OAA was not necessarily associated with a decline in nonmonetary intergenerational support for the parents. Findings reveal that older persons whose main income source was OAA were less likely than others to report income adequacy and positive psychological well-being, suggesting that the scheme may have little impact in dampening inequality among older Thais.
... Additionally, the research by Sterns (1998), Kotlikoff and Morris (1989), Ferraro and Su (1999), Blank (1999), Kleinman, Anandarajan and Lawrence (1999) and Wiatrowski (1993) proved that demographic factors have great influence in retirement saving, highlighting the importance of savings for a person´s future, since nowadays, most young people who are working will need to save money due to new retirement reforms and that saved money will be used for their own support. ...
The purpose of this study is to describe the actions taken by college students to face their future retirement. For this, the test designed by the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Financial Services Users (CONDUSEF) in Mexico was used, which has items related to financial knowledge, specifically topics about savings, emergency funds and life insurance, among others. The instrument was applied to 60 UPAV college students of different levels, during the school cycle of February-August 2018, in the city of Xalapa, Veracruz; it should be noted that the range of age was older than 21 but younger than 23 years old. The descriptive analysis showed results that lead us to believe that students have emergency funds (53%) but these are used to face unexpected situations (59%); also, students do not have life insurance, which could be concerning in their personal and family life if/when they have to face a present or future illness. Regarding car insurance, most of the respondents stated that they do not own one, besides considering it an unnecessary expense. One of the study limitations was the surveyed population; hence the need to widen this research to encompass more students from such geographical area in order to obtain a wider outlook of said behavior.
... Understanding the motives that underline individual's retirement saving practices is important because many, if not most future retirees from private sector, will need to rely on personal savings to maintain a reasonable replacement income. (Sterns 1998;Kotlikoff & Morris 1989;Ferraro & Su 1999;Blank 1999; Kleinman, Anandarajan and Lawrenece 1999;Wiatrowski 1993). ...
... In the case of exchange or reciprocity, however, some kind of return is expected (e.g., Cox 1987). This 'return' may be appreciation and attention, it may involve exchanges of money and time, and it may even come with implicit or explicit conditions that the potential transfer receiver is not ready to accept -for example, when a financial transfer from par ents to adult children is seen as a form of 'payment' or even 'bribe' to receive attention (Kotlikoff and Morris 1989). Reciprocity can also be of indirect nature, for example, when parents provide financial support to adult children pursuing higher education as a form of 'investment' in status reproduction (e.g., Albertini and Radl 2012). ...
Sharing Lives looks at the most important human relationships, which last the longest time of our lives: those between adult children and their parents. Offering an excellent new reference point for studies in the sociology of family, the book focuses on the reasons and results of lifelong intergenerational solidarity by looking at individuals, families and societies. This monograph combines theoretical reasoning with empirical research based on the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The book focuses on the following areas: Adult family generations, from young adulthood to the end of life - and even beyond. Contact, conflict, coresidence, money, time, inheritance. Consequences of lifelong solidarity. Family generations and the relationship of family and welfare state. Connections between family cohesion and social inequality. Sharing Lives offers reliable findings on the basis of state-of-the-art methods and best available data, and presents these findings in an accessible manner. This book will appeal to researchers, policy makers and graduate students in the area of sociology, political science, psychology and economics.
... According to this model, bequests represent payments for assistance and attention received from children. Parents may use the prospect of future bequests to induce their children to provide care to them when they are old and to have some control over the behavior of their offspring (Bernheim, Shleifer, Summers, 1985;Kotlikoff & Morris, 1989). Therefore, the exchange model has focused on examining associations between bequests and child-to-parent inter-vivos transfers, usually social support, including care and housing (Izuhara, 2008). ...
Purpose:
This study investigated discrepancies in expectations of aging parents and their middle-aged offspring regarding future inheritances.
Methods:
Data from 327 older parent-adult child dyads were analyzed. Using multilevel models, we examined factors (e.g., economic resources, family characteristics, current support exchanges, and beliefs about family obligation) associated with expectations of inheritance. We also explored patterns of correspondence in expectations over inheritance within dyads and what factors are associated with these patterns.
Results:
We found a significant generational difference in expectations of inheritance, with children less likely to expect inheritances than parents expected to give. Parent's income, number of siblings, and support currently given to children were significantly associated with both parents' and children's positive expectations of inheritance. The effects of child's income, support given to parent, and parent's gender on inheritance expectations differed between parents and children. Compared with discordant dyads (parents intended to leave a bequest, but their child did not expect an inheritance), correspondent dyads (both parents and children expected a bequest) showed higher income of parents and children, more support given to the child, and lower levels of child's filial obligation.
Implications:
Although bequest decisions are circumscribed by parent's financial resources, our findings suggest that they are also a continuation of established patterns of exchanges. Parents and children form their intention or expectation about inheritance based on different factors, leaving open the possibility of misunderstandings between the generations.
... They also find that Son preference old age security that children provide is in some part a repayment for parental investment in them. Kotlikoff and Morris's (1987) conclusions reflect a mixed bag of elderly care by parents from some children providing a lot of care and others very little to nothing at all. Cameron and Cobb-Clark (2001) also studying Indonesia, come to somewhat different conclusions. ...
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to take a close look at factors that influence the choice and quality of healthcare received by ailing and elderly people in rural north India. The author is primarily interested in seeing what role is played by the presence of sons in the family, particularly co-residence with sons. In the absence of some broad-based social security arrangement in countries like India, older adults traditionally turn to living arrangement where the older adults are supported by their children or extended family. In a patriarchal society as India, such responsibility lies with the sons if one has son/s. Such dependence on sons explains preferential treatment towards younger sons as a justification for the care parents receive from sons in their advanced years. This culture of son preference behavior provides the context for this paper.
Design/methodology/approach
– The empirical model is based on testing three inter-related research questions. First, the author asks whether having grown sons or living with son/s leads to up-front better quality of healthcare for parents. If the empirical analysis does not show support for this research question, the author broadens the research question to ask whether those with grown son/s or those that live with their son/s have a higher probability of seeing a trained medical professional as compared to some traditional healer. If the empirical analysis does not support the second question, the author further broadens the research question and asks whether those elderly who are sick are more likely to receive any healthcare (medical or traditional) if they have grown son/s or live with their son/s.
Findings
– The results show that co-residence with a son does not have a statistically significant impact on the quality of healthcare received by the elderly individual. Additionally, not having a son also does not have a statistically significant impact on quality of healthcare received.
Research limitations/implications
– For the purpose of the empirical analysis, the author utilizes World Bank's Living Standard Measurement Survey (LSMS) data collected from rural villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India in 1997-1998. The dataset may be somewhat dated, but it provides relevant information which transcends time. Additionally, with economic growth and modernization, more and more young people in India have migrated away from rural areas in the recent decade. Thus, surveys carried out in the last decade by the National Family Health Surveys in India show very little evidence of elderly parent in rural areas living with their adult children. This practice seemed to be much more prevalent at the time of the LSMS survey of 1997-1998.
Practical implications
– Contrary to popular expectation, the results show that co-residing with a son has no statistically significant impact on healthcare received by parents. Additionally, not having sons does not matter either.
Originality/value
– The author finds relatively fewer studies done on factors that determine the choice of healthcare for the elderly, particularly relating to those that are ailing (for reasons other than simply aging) and with reference to their living arrangement. The present paper addresses this void in the literature and is expected to make a meaningful contribution in bridging this gap in the literature.
... Additionally, the employment status of the parent is not relevant to the probability of receiving transfers, which might seem contradictory to the intuition that those who work do not need much support. It is interesting to note that neither the number of sons as opposed to daughters nor the place of living, which were found signifi cant in other studies (for example, Bonsang, 2007;Kotlikoff & Morris, 1989;Soldo & Hill, 1995), is signifi cant for the probability of any of the analyzed transfers. ...
Ageing populations in Europe are facing opportunities, but also threats, such as insufficient provision of care to the elderly. Private transfers, that is, transfers that do not involve any public institutions, are one solution to this problem. In this paper, the hypothesis on altruistic transfers within families is investigated. We distinguish families with all children being genetically related to parents and families with at least one child nongenetically related to parents.
We test whether the two types of families differ with respect to private transfers between parents and children. We examine a sample of parents aged 50+ in Europe. Our findings show that parents with a nongenetically related child are less likely to receive financial transfers from children than parents with all children genetically related. However, once a financial transfer from children to parents is made, its value does not differ between parents with and without a nongenetically related child.
... Transfers are only given with the expectation of some return. Kotlikoff and Morris (1989), for instance, proposed that money transfers from parents to children represent a "bribe" buying their social support. Conversely, the anticipation of a future reward may be an incentive to support frail but well-off parents; that is, children initiate the exchange and parents balance the support accounts later. ...
... In the following, we discuss two aspects that influence the timing of intergenerational inter vivos transfers: the recipient's need for support and the donor's wish to give. A third aspect refers to considerations of exchange, either strategic (Kotlikoff & Morris, 1989; or governed by norms of reciprocity , presuming that the timing of giving depends on past, current or future receiving. Our retrospective data on receiving transfers, however, do not allow reconstructing exchange processes. ...
Dramatic improvements in life expectancy coupled with declines in fertility have profoundly changed the structure of families. The number of living generations has increased whereas the size of each generation has decreased. One of the most important implications of this transformation “from pyramids to beanpoles” are longer years of shared lives between the generations. As a result, there is a remarkable increase in the availability of intergenerational kin as family resources and an extended period for supportive exchanges across the life course.
These current and projected trends are changing the face of families and will possibly lead to shifts in the supportive behavior between the generations. This raises a variety of new questions about the nature and dynamics of intergenerational linkages, in particular with regard to the provision of instrumental assistance. How do family support systems adapt to future demographic, social, and economic conditions in ageing societies? More specifically, how do parents support their offspring’s passage to independence and protect them against the risks of contemporary life courses? Conversely, can future cohorts of elderly parents rely on their children to provide help and care in later life?
This dissertation addresses these questions based on an integrative conceptual framework comprised of four analytical principles: A comprehensive life course perspective on intergenerational ties, covering multiple actors within families, considering the complexity of their relationships, and investigating the mechanisms that govern their supportive behavior. Five studies examine multiple transitions across the family life course, from leaving home to parental caregiving, thus covering and linking early, middle, and late periods of intergenerational relationships.
The overarching goals of this dissertation are to enrich theoretical models guiding the study of intergenerational relationships, to advance our understanding of supportive behavior within families, and to close important gaps in the empirical literature by analyzing multiple linkages across the shared lifetime of parents and their adult children.
