Theories about intergenerational solidarity

Matthijs Kalmijn

Department of Social Cultural Sciences

Tilburg University, Netherlands

Lecture for Socrates Intensive Program 2006

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Intergenerational solidarity

• Exchanges between (older) parents and (grown-up) children

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Types of support

• Practical support (services)

• Financial support

• Social support (visits, contact, attention)

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Definition

• Doing something that is a benefit to the other (and a cost to you)

• Both directions:

> Upward (from children to parents)

> Downward (from parents to children)

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Research issues

• Variation in intergenerational solidarity

> Across individuals

> Across social groups

> Across countries

> Over time

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Support from children to parents

0 20 40 60 80 100

Child attends parent's birthday (%)

Child giving emotional support to parent(%)

Child giving advice to parent (%)

Child giving practical help to parent (%)

Child giving household help to parent(%)

To fathers

To mothers

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Education and parent-child contact

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

primary lowersecondary

highersecondary

lower tertiary higher tertiary% w

eekl

y co

nta

ct w

ith

par

ent

Socrates 2006 8

Ethnicity and parent-child contact

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Dutch Turkish/Morrocan Surinamese/Antillian% w

eekl

y co

nta

ct w

ith

par

ent

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Country differences in contact

01020304050607080

Italy

Spain

Gre

ece

Sweden

Denm

ark

Austri

a

Ger

man

y

Nethe

rland

s

Franc

e

% d

aily

co

nta

ct (

any)

wit

h c

hil

d

Socrates 2006 10

Country differences in parent-child coresidence

0

10

20

30

40

50

Italy

Spain

Gre

ece

Sweden

Denm

ark

Austri

a

Ger

man

y

Nethe

rland

s

Franc

e

%In household In building

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Proximity of parent and grandparent when growing up

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90

Year

% in

sa

me

ne

igh

bo

rho

od

mothers

fathers

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Theories

1. Exchange

2. Altruism

3. Norms

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Theories - continued

• Emphasized by different disciplines

> Norms – traditional sociological model of man

> Exchange – traditional economic model of man

> Altruism – psychology and sociology

• Competing theories

> Which theory is most valid?

• More general theoretical issue

> How do we explain people’s social behavior?

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(1) Exchange

• Rational actors

> Considerations of costs and benefits for ego

• Selfish actors

> Act only when benefits ego > costs ego

• People do something for their parents because it makes them better off

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Forms of exchange

• Direct exchange

> Quid pro quo (Something for something)

• Delayed exchange

> Parents invest in children early in life and children give support back later

> Insurance element

> Uncertainty

• Prospective exchange

> Children give support to parents in order to receive something later from their parents

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Empirical test 1

• Hypothesis:

> The support of parents to children decreases over the life course and the support of children to parents increases over the life course

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Practical support

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

45 50 55 60 65 70

Age

% f

req

uen

t

Parent to child

Child to parent

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Empirical test 2

• Hypothesis:

> The more parents have invested in children when the children are young, the more support they receive from the children when they are old

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Support received from adult child

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

Parents together Parents divorced when childwas young

mothers

fathers

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Empirical test 3

• Hypothesis:

> The more wealth parents have, the more often children visit their parents

• Research on bequests

• Confirms hypothesis!

• Only in multiple child families

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(2) Altruism

• Critique on exchange

> Different types of relations

> Different types of behavior

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Primary relations

Secondary relations

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Selfishness Altruism

Primary relations

Secondary relations

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Selfishness Altruism

Primary relations

X Family

Friends

Secondary relations

Business partners

Neighbors

X

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Definition of altruism

• Altruism is doing something for someone out of concern for the other’s well-being

• Rational behavior

> Behavior based on the costs/benefits for the other

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Empirical test 1

• Hypothesis

> The greater the need of the parent, the more support the children will give

• Evidence

> More support to widowed parents than to married parents

> More support to ill parents than to healthy parents

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Empirical test 2

• Hypothesis

> The greater the need of the child, the more support the parent will give

• Research on financial transfers to children

• Comparisons across children

• The poorest children do not get more than the richest children

> Equity versus need

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(3) Norms

• General expectation of how to act

> External norm (via sanctions)

> Internalized norm

• Norms of filial obligation

> Feeling that one should care for one’s family

> Unconditional

• Should not depend on own cost

• Should not depend on own what they did for you (or did not do for you)

• Norm of reciprocity

> Feeling that one should ‘return favors’

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Obligations toward parents

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Children w ho live close to their parents shouldvisit them w eekly

In old age, parents must be able to live in w iththeir children

Children should take an unpaid leave to lookafter their sick parents

Children should look after their sick parents

% agree

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Obligations toward children

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Grandparents should be prepared to look aftergrandchildren regularly

Parents should provide lodging to their adultchildren if they need it

Parents should help their adult childrenfinancially if they need it

Parents should support their children if theyneed it

% agree

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Obligations toward family

012345

678910

-0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Biological distance

Ob

ligat

ion

str

eng

th

child

parent

sibling

grandp

grandc

niece

aunt

cousin

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Empirical test 1

• Hypothesis

> The more people adhere to kinship norms, the more support they give to their parents

• Research shows positive relationship for individual adult children

• Macro-level test

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obligations tow ard parents (EVS data)

.9.8.7.6.5.4.3

daily

con

tact

with

chi

ld (

SH

AR

E d

ata)

.8

.7

.6

.5

.4

.3

.2

gre

den

fra

ita

spa

netswe

ger

aus

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Causal direction?

Norms of filial obligation

Support to parents

causal effect

attitude adjustment

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Alternative test

• Test of:

> Norm of reciprocity versus rational exchange

> Focus on consequences of support:

• Perceived quality

• Consider the following possibilities:

1. Ego gives more

2. Balance

3. Ego gives less

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Normative approach

Rational approach

Ego gives more than s/he receives

Balance

Ego receives more than s/he receives

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Normative approach

Rational approach

Ego gives more than s/he receives

Worst

Balance Best

Ego receives more than s/he receives

Worst

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Normative approach

Rational approach

Ego gives more than s/he receives

Worst Worst

Balance Best Neutral

Ego receives more than s/he receives

Worst Best

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Relationship quality according to parent

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

parent givesmore than child

balance

parent givesless than child

% very good

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Relationship quality according to child

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

child gives morethan parent

balance

child gives lessthan parent

% very good

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Conclusion

1. Solidarity toward the elderly is perfectly compatible with a rational and selfish model of man

2. The high levels of family solidarity in southern Europe (compared to the western/northern parts of Europe) point to higher levels of altruism in the south

3. Coresidence of parents and older children is not a form of “children helping parents” – it is a continuation of “parents helping children”

4. The lower levels of intergenerational contact among the higher educated can be explained by weaker norms of filial obligation among the higher educated

5. The increase in divorce threatens intergenerational solidarity

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More reading?

> Review paper (presented to Netspar)

http://www.netspar.nl/events/pensiondays/upcoming/nov24/