Theories about intergenerational solidarity Matthijs Kalmijn Department of Social Cultural Sciences Tilburg University, Netherlands Lecture for Socrates Intensive Program 2006
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Theories about intergenerational solidarity
Matthijs Kalmijn
Department of Social Cultural Sciences
Tilburg University, Netherlands
Lecture for Socrates Intensive Program 2006
Socrates 2006 2
Intergenerational solidarity
• Exchanges between (older) parents and (grown-up) children
Socrates 2006 3
Types of support
• Practical support (services)
• Financial support
• Social support (visits, contact, attention)
Socrates 2006 4
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)
Socrates 2006 5
Research issues
• Variation in intergenerational solidarity
> Across individuals
> Across social groups
> Across countries
> Over time
Socrates 2006 6
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
Socrates 2006 7
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
Socrates 2006 9
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
Socrates 2006 11
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
Socrates 2006 12
Theories
1. Exchange
2. Altruism
3. Norms
Socrates 2006 13
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?
Socrates 2006 14
(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
Socrates 2006 15
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
Socrates 2006 16
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
Socrates 2006 17
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
Socrates 2006 18
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
Socrates 2006 19
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
Socrates 2006 20
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
Socrates 2006 21
(2) Altruism
• Critique on exchange
> Different types of relations
> Different types of behavior
Socrates 2006 22
Primary relations
Secondary relations
Socrates 2006 23
Selfishness Altruism
Primary relations
Secondary relations
Socrates 2006 24
Selfishness Altruism
Primary relations
X Family
Friends
Secondary relations
Business partners
Neighbors
X
Socrates 2006 25
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
Socrates 2006 26
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
Socrates 2006 27
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
Socrates 2006 28
(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’
Socrates 2006 29
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
Socrates 2006 30
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
Socrates 2006 31
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
Socrates 2006 32
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
Socrates 2006 33
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
Socrates 2006 34
Causal direction?
Norms of filial obligation
Support to parents
causal effect
attitude adjustment
Socrates 2006 35
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
Socrates 2006 36
Normative approach
Rational approach
Ego gives more than s/he receives
Balance
Ego receives more than s/he receives
Socrates 2006 37
Normative approach
Rational approach
Ego gives more than s/he receives
Worst
Balance Best
Ego receives more than s/he receives
Worst
Socrates 2006 38
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
Socrates 2006 39
Relationship quality according to parent
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
parent givesmore than child
balance
parent givesless than child
% very good
Socrates 2006 40
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
Socrates 2006 41
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
Socrates 2006 42
More reading?
> Review paper (presented to Netspar)
http://www.netspar.nl/events/pensiondays/upcoming/nov24/
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