Intergenerational Transfers in Families Across Welfare Regimes

Intergenerational Transfers in Families across Welfare Regimes

This paper presents a comparative study of intergenerational transfers (financial and social support) in light of recent financial crisis based on the most recent OECD, SHARE, and EU data available.

In this paper, I consider the following information to measure intergenerational transfers: (i) occurrence and amount of financial support from or to someone within or outside the household; (ii) occurrence and amount (in hours) of social support such as personal care, house work, child care, and other social help from or to someone outside the household. Similar to previous studies, I expect to find that a common transfer pattern which is a net downward flow from the older to the younger generations, both by financial transfers and by social support. Transfers from the elderly parents to their children are much more frequent and also usually much more intense than those in the opposite direction. I also expect to find some evidence that show differentiated patterns that correspond to a four-fold welfare regime typology.