The Motives of Intergenerational Transfer to the Elderly Parents in China: Consequences of High Medical Expenditure

Health Economics, 23(6), page 631-652, 2014

37 Pages Posted: 14 Apr 2013 Last revised: 19 May 2014

See all articles by Xiaoyu Wu

Xiaoyu Wu

Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE)

Lixing Li

Peking University - China Center for Economic Research (CCER)

Date Written: May 1, 2014

Abstract

The support for the elderly is facing big challenges with the problem of population aging. Transfers from adult children could partly insure elderly parents against low income and high medical expenditure. There are two main motives for transfers in the literature, namely altruism and exchange. Using data from a new household survey of people aged 45 and above in China, we estimate the transfer derivatives with the adjustment of medical expenditure in elderly parents' income. We find a large negative impact of adjusted income on transfers at the lower end of income distribution, which is consistent with the altruistic motive. Evidence on the exchange motive is found only for sons, but not for daughters. In addition, there is evidence on the "exchange-for-service" motive, which interprets transfer as a payment to parents' family services, such as taking care of grandchildren.

Keywords: Transfer derivatives, Medical expenditure, Retirement, Family insurance, China

JEL Classification: D64, H55, J14, O12, P35

Suggested Citation

Wu, Xiaoyu and Li, Lixing, The Motives of Intergenerational Transfer to the Elderly Parents in China: Consequences of High Medical Expenditure (May 1, 2014). Health Economics, 23(6), page 631-652, 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2250324

Xiaoyu Wu

Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE) ( email )

Beijing, Beijing
China

Lixing Li (Contact Author)

Peking University - China Center for Economic Research (CCER) ( email )

Beijing, 100871
China

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