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. 2005 Oct 18;2(3):161-173.
doi: 10.1007/s10433-005-0008-7. eCollection 2005 Sep.

European patterns of intergenerational financial and time transfers

Claudine Attias-Donfut  1 , Jim Ogg  2 , François-Charles Wolff  3   4
Affiliations

European patterns of intergenerational financial and time transfers

Claudine Attias-Donfut et al. Eur J Ageing. .

Abstract

The ageing of the European population is expected to strongly influence both the structure of family relations and the pattern of private transfers between generations. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe conducted from the perspective of adults aged 50 and above in ten European countries, we provide an analysis of financial and time transfers, either given or received. Our results show that cash gifts mainly flow to the younger generations, while time transfers are directed both upwards and downwards. When comparing the countries, we find some remarkable similarity in the pattern of transfers, although there are inter-country differences. These differences sometimes follow the expected north-south European gradient, but not always. The results suggest that the social and demographic transformations currently taking place in Europe often have contradictory and paradoxical effects upon the nature of intergenerational exchanges.

Keywords: Cross-country comparison; Family support; Intergenerational transfers.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Reason for financial gift to ascending or descending generations. (SHARE 2004, release 1)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Ranking of countries by country fixed effects. (SHARE 2004, release 1). FTG, FTR, TTR and TTG stand, respectively, for ‘financial transfers given’, ‘financial transfers received’, ‘time transfer received’ and ‘time transfer given’. The rankings are given by the country fixed effects obtained in the four model Probit estimation. (1 = highest coefficient, 10 = lowest)
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References

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    1. Attias-Donfut C, Lapierre N. In: The history of the family. New York: Elsevier Science Inc.; 2000. Three generations in Guadeloupean society.
    1. Attias-Donfut C, Wolff FC. The redistributive effects of generational transfers. In: Arber S, Attias-Donfut C, editors. The myth of generational conflict. London: The family and state in ageing societies. Routledge; 2000. pp. 22–46.
    1. Attias-Donfut C, Wolff FC. The family and state in ageing societies. London: Routledge; 2000. Complementarity between private and public transfers In: Arber S, Attias-Donfut C (eds) The myth of generational conflict; pp. 47–68.

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