A Theory of the Value of Grandchildren

Debra Friedman, Michael Hechter and Derek Kreager
Additional contact information
Debra Friedman: Arizona State University, Dean, College of Public Programs, Mail Code 3520, 411 N Central Ave, Suite 600, Phoenix, AZ 85004- 0685, USA, debra.friedman@asu.edu
Michael Hechter: School of Global Studies, Arizona State University, michael.hechter@asu.edu
Derek Kreager: Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, dkreager@psu.edu

Rationality and Society, 2008, vol. 20, issue 1, 31-63

Abstract: As innovations in medical technology extend average longevity, grandparents become increasingly present during the lives of their grandchildren. We propose a theory that seeks to explain differential investment in grandchildren. The theory relies on a fundamental assumption of uncertainty reduction to explain why grandparents in post-industrial societies might find it rational to invest in at least one of their grandchildren. We advance numerous illustrative hypotheses about end of life uncertainty, as well as proportional and differential investments in grandchildren, and discuss the relevance of existing empirical literature.

Keywords: grandparents; grandchildren; rational choice; intergenerational transfer; elder care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1043463107085436 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ratsoc:v:20:y:2008:i:1:p:31-63

DOI: 10.1177/1043463107085436

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Rationality and Society
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().