This article explores the links between old age support and the characteristics of both parents and children drawing on survey data collected in Baoding, China, in 1994. Three specific forms of support are examined: monetary transfers, in-kind gifts, and help with daily activities. Hierarchical modeling is applied to the analysis from children’s perspective to control for the unobserved family heterogeneity. Results indicate that intergenerational support within families is currently the major source of old age security in Chinese society. Analyses from both parents’ and children’s perspectives support the corporate group/mutual aid model, which largely sees the provision of help as dependent on elderly parents’needs and children’s capacities. Although living away from children does not affect whether elderly parents receive economic help, it does constrain their receiving help on daily activities. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allison, P. D.1999. Logistic Regression Using the SAS System: Theory and Application. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc.
2.
Bernheim, B. D.
, A. Schleifer, and L. H. Summers. 1985. “The Strategic Bequest Motive.”Journal of Political Economy93: 1045-1076.
3.
Chen, J. 1996. Old Age Support and Intergenerational Relations in Urban China: Maintenance of Obligations Between Older Parents and Children. Ph.D. dissertation, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
4.
Chi, I.1996. “Safe Use of Medicine by Older Adults in Hong Kong.”Hong Kong Journal of Social Work30: 52-57.
5.
Cooney, R. S.
and J. Di. 1999. “Primary Family Caregivers of Impaired Elderly in Shanghai, China.”Research on Aging21: 739-761.
6.
Eggebeen, D. J.
and D. P. Hogan. 1990. “Giving Between Generations in American Families.”Human Nature1: 211-232.
7.
Freedman, R.
, B. Moots, T. Sun, and M. B. Weinberger. 1978. “Household Composition and Extended Kinship in Taiwan.”Population Studies32: 65-80.
8.
Freedman, V. A.
, D. A. Wolf, B. J. Soldo, and E. H. Stephen. 1991. “Intergenerational Transfers: A Question of Perspective.”The Gerontologist31: 640-647.
9.
Goldstein, H.1987. Multilevel Models in Educational and Social Research. New York: Oxford University Press.
10.
Greenhalgh, S.1985. “Is Inequality Demographically Induced? The Family Cycle and the Distribution in Taiwan.”American Anthropologist87: 571-594.
11.
Hermalin, A. I.
, M. B. Ofstedal, and M. Chang. 1996. “Types of Supports for the Aged and Their Providers in Taiwan.” Pp. 179-215 in Aging and Generational Relations, edited by T. K. Hareven. New York: Aldine De Gruyter.
12.
Hogan, D. P.
, D. J. Eggebeen, and C. C. Clogg. 1993. “The Structure of Intergenerational Exchanges in American Families.”American Journal of Sociology98: 1428-1458.
13.
Hong, L.
and M. B. Tracy. 1999. “Family Support, Financial Needs, and Health Care Needs of Rural Elderly in China: A Field Study.”Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology14: 357-371.
14.
Lee, R. D.1994. “The Formal Demography of Population Aging, Transfers, and the Economic Life Cycle.” Pp. 8-49 in Demography of Aging, edited by L. G. Martin and S. H. Preston. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
15.
Lee, Y.
, W. L. Parish, and R. J. Willis. 1994. “Sons, Daughters, and Intergenerational Support in Taiwan.”American Journal of Sociology99: 1010-1041.
16.
Lillard, L. A.
and R. J. Willis. 1997. “Motives for Intergenerational Transfers: Evidence from Malaysia.”Demography34: 115-134.
17.
Lin, C. C.
and V. Fu. 1990. “A Comparison of Child-Rearing Practices Among Chinese, Immigrant Chinese, and Caucasian-American Parents.”Child Development61: 429-433.
18.
Logan, J. R.
, F. Bian and Y. Bian. 1998. “Tradition and Change in the Urban Chinese Family: The Case of Living Arrangements.”Social Forces76: 851-882.
19.
Martin, L. G.1990. “Changing Intergenerational Family Relations in East Asia.”Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science510: 102-114.
20.
National Statistics Bureau
. 1998. Urban Statistical Yearbook of China. Beijing: China’s Statistics Press.
21.
Pan, Y.
and N. Lin. 1987. “A Model of Contemporary Chinese Urban Families.”Sociological Research (in Chinese) 3: 61-66.
22.
Parish, W. L.
and W. Tang. 1997. “Life Changes in Urban China.” Presented at the annual meetings of the Population Association of America, March 27-29, Washington, DC.
23.
Pei, X.
and V. K. Pillai. 1999. “Old Age Support in China: The Role of the State and the Family.”International Journal of Aging and Human Development49: 197-212.
24.
Riley, N.
and R. W. Gardner. 1997. “China’s Population: A Review of the Literature.”Commissioned for the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population international conference, October 11-17, Beijing, China.
25.
Riskin, C.1987. China’s Political Economy: The Quest for Development Since 1949. New York: Oxford University Press.
26.
Roan, C. L., A. I. Hermalin, and M. B. Ofstedal. 1996. Intergenerational Contact and Support in Taiwan: A Comparison of Elderly Parents and Children’s Reports. Research Report No. 96-36. Ann Arbor: Population Studies Center, the University of Michigan.
27.
Schwab, T.1989. Caring for an Aging World: International Models of Long-Term Care, Financing, and Delivery. New York: McGraw-Hill.
28.
Sun, R. 2000. The Well-Being and Family Network of the Elderly in Contemporary Urban China. Ph.D. dissertation, Brown University, Providence, RI.
29.
Treas, J.
and J. Chen. 2000. “Living Arrangements, Income Pooling, and the Life Course in Urban Chinese Families.”Research on Aging22: 238-261.
30.
Tu, E. J.
, V. A. Freedman, and D. A. Wolf. 1993. “Kinship and Family Support in Taiwan.”Research on Aging15: 465-486.
31.
Wang, D. 1999. Flying From the Nest: Household Formation in a Village in Northeastern China. Ph.D. dissertation, Brown University, Providence, RI.
32.
Whyte, M. K.
and W. L. Parish. 1984. Urban Life in Contemporary China. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
33.
Wu, C.
, Y. Kan, and H. Hao. 1996. A General Report of China’s Population Transition and Development (in Chinese). Beijing, China: Higher Education Press.
34.
Yang, H.1996. “The Distributive Norm of Monetary Support to Older Parents: A Look at a Township in China.”Journal of Marriage and the Family58: 404-415.
35.
Zeng, Y.1986. “Changes in Family Structure in China: A Simulation Study.”Population and Development Review12: 675-703.
36.
Zheng, G.1988. “Shanghai’s Urban Family Structure and Facilities for the Care of the Elderly.”Sociological Research (in Chinese) 5: 136-144.
37.
Zhou, L.
and J. Wang. 1996. “Old Age Support of Different Family Structure in Urban China.”Population & Economy (in Chinese) 4: 55-58.
38.
Zhu, C.
and Q. Xu. 1992. “Family Care of the Elderly in China.” Pp. 67-81 in Family Care of the Elderly: Social and Cultural Changes, edited by J. I. Kosberg. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
