Why Do Children Take Care of Their Elderly Parents? Are the Japanese Any Different?

Charles Horioka (), Emin Gahramanov, Aziz Hayat and Xueli Tang

No 2016-11, AGI Working Paper Series from Asian Growth Research Institute

Abstract: In this paper, we conduct a theoretical analysis of why individuals provide are and attention to their elderly parents using a two-period overlapping generations model with endogenous saving and a “contest success function” and test this model using micro data from a Japanese household survey, the Osaka University Preference Parameter Study. To summarize our main findings, we find that the Japanese are more likely to live with (or near) their elderly parents and/or to provide care and attention to them if they expect to receive a bequest from them, which constitutes strong support for the selfish bequest motive or the exchange motive (much stronger than in the United States), but we find that their caregiving behavior is also heavily influenced by the strength of their altruism toward their parents and social norms.

Keywords: Altruism; attention; bequest motive; care; caregiving; contest success function; coresidence; elderly care; exchange motive; family care; informal care; intergenerational transfers; Japan; parental care; parent-child relations; selfishness; social norms; strategic bequest motive (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 D64 D91 E21 J14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Related works:
Journal Article: WHY DO CHILDREN TAKE CARE OF THEIR ELDERLY PARENTS? ARE THE JAPANESE ANY DIFFERENT? (2018)
Working Paper: Why Do Children Take Care of Their Elderly Parents? Are the Japanese Any Different? (2016)
Working Paper: Why Do Children Take Care of Their Elderly Parents? Are the Japanese Any Different? (2016)
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