Most existing literature on intergenerational transfers in the West focuses on downward transfers from parents to children. Two strands of studies have been developed in the past decade. One strand emphasizes inter vivos transfers while the other strand looks at postmortem bequests.
As described in various sources, in oriental societies child-to-parent transfers may be more essential than that from parent to child. The Taiwan Elderly Survey conducted in 2000 shows that more than 47 percent of the elderly rely on financial support from their children to sustain their living. Another island-wide survey entitled Panel Study of Family Dynamics (PSFD) shows a similar pattern. Among interviewees (aged 36–65) surveyed in 1999-2000 by PSFD, 53 percent reported that they provided financial transfers to their parents regularly, while only less than 5 percent received financial transfers from their parents.
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Chu, C.Y.C., Yu, RR. (2007). Kinship Networks and Intergenerational Transfers. In: Gauthier, A.H., Chu, C.Y.C., Tuljapurkar, S. (eds) Allocating Public and Private Resources across Generations. International Studies In Population, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4481-6_2
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