Understanding Interhousehold Transfers in a Transition Economy: Evidence from Russia

Randall Kuhn () and Steven Stillman
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Randall Kuhn: University of Colorado, Boulder

No 574, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper uses data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey to describe and model the determinants of interhousehold transfers. Russian households have experienced large reductions in income during the post-Soviet transition period, with a particularly severe decline occurring in the fall of 1998. Sharply declining fertility, increasing mortality, and past demographic catastrophes has left a population which is both young (few elderly) and old (one of the oldest working-age populations in the world). Informal networks in Russia are likely to take on distinctive characteristics as the country’s economic institutions are underdeveloped and there is a very limited social safety net, while household structure closely resembles that found in much wealthier countries. Although it is often assumed that the elderly in Russia are a highly vulnerable economic group, we actually find that transfers flow strongly from the elderly to their adult children, whom are typically in the early part of the life-course (i.e. in school, starting to work, or recently married). This is especially true for the elderly in rural areas. While households with higher longer-term resources receive on net more transfers, we also find strong evidence that transfers respond to economic needs (i.e. transitory fluctuations in resources).

Keywords: aging; interhousehold transfers; transition economies; household structure; Russia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 J14 O12 P36 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 43 pages
Date: 2002-09
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Published - published in: Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2004, 53 (1), 131-56

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Journal Article: Understanding Interhousehold Transfers in a Transition Economy: Evidence from Russia (2004)
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