Parental Marital Disruption, Family Type, and Transfers to Disabled Elderly Parents

This paper examines the family variables that affect intergenerational living arrangements and adult children's time and cash transfers to their unpartnered disabled elderly parents. The family variables we examine include parental marital status, parental marital history, whether the index child is a step child or a biological child of the parent, and whether the index child's siblings are step children or biological children of the parent. Using data from the Health and Retirement Studies - Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (HRS-AHEAD) surveys, we estimate the joint probabilities that an adult child provides time and/or cash transfers to a parent and analyze a five-level categorical variable capturing parent–child living arrangements. Parameter estimates suggest significant detrimental effects of parental divorce and step relationship on time transfers and on the probability of coresidence with the index child. The composition of the index child's sibling network also affects transfers and living arrangement choices of adult children. Our findings suggest that demographic changes are weakening the traditional role of the family as a support network. Because more recent cohorts of elderly persons have experienced substantially higher rates of divorce, remarriage, and step parenthood than the cohort considered in this study, our findings raise concerns about the future availability of family care.long-term care, intergenerational transfers, aging, family

Parental marital disruption, family type, and transfers to disabled elderly parents

This paper examines the family variables that affect intergenerational living arrangements and adult children's time and cash transfers to their unpartnered disabled elderly parents. The family variables we examine include parental marital status, parental marital history, whether the index child is a step child or a biological child of the parent, and whether the index child's siblings are step children or biological children of the parent. Using data from the Health and Retirement Studies - Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (HRS-AHEAD) surveys, we estimate the joint probabilities that an adult child provides time and/or cash transfers to a parent and analyze a five-level categorical variable capturing parentchild living arrangements. Parameter estimates suggest significant detrimental effects of parental divorce and step relationship on time transfers and on the probability of coresidence with the index child. The composition of the index child's sibling network also affects transfers and living arrangement choices of adult children. Our findings suggest that demographic changes are weakening the traditional role of the family as a support network. Because more recent cohorts of elderly persons have experienced substantially higher rates of divorce, remarriage, and step parenthood than the cohort considered in this study, our findings raise concerns about the future availability of family care

Intergenerational Household Formation, Female Labor Supply and Informal Caregiving: A Bargaining Approach

Children's provision of in-kind services to their elderly parents (informal caregiving) represents an important form of economic transfers to the elderly. In this paper, we develop and estimate a joint model of informal caregiving and labor force participation decisions of adult daughters who have a frail elderly parent in a broader framework of intergenerational household formation. Parent and daughter agree to a Nash bargaining rule as the solution to the household formation and intrahousehold decision making process. However, rather than severed relationships, the threat point is given by a noncooperative equilibrium defined in terms of voluntary contributions toward a public good, the parental "well-being." Maximum likelihood parameter estimates derived from the simultaneous, multiequation, endogenous switching model are generally consistent with expectations. Our results indicate that competing demands on daughters' time reduce both coresidence and informal caregiving. We also find that intergenerational coresidence is an important mode of assistance to elderly persons. A simulation based on the estimated parameters suggests that public programs designed to meet the long-term care needs of elderly persons by subsidizing formal home care services may have substantial effects on intergenerational living and care arrangement decisions.

Marital Disruption, Step Children, and Transfers to the Elderly

NoneLong-term care

Marital Disruption, Step Children, and Transfers to the Elderly

NoneLong-term care