Working Paper: NBER ID: w22245
Authors: Charles Yuji Horioka; Emin Gahramanov; Aziz Hayat; Xueli Tang
Abstract: In this paper, we conduct a theoretical analysis of why individuals provide care and attention to their elderly parents using a two-period overlapping generations model with endogenous saving and a “contest success function” and test this model using micro data from a Japanese household survey, the Osaka University Preference Parameter Study. To summarize our main findings, we find that the Japanese are more likely to live with (or near) their elderly parents and/or to provide care and attention to them if they expect to receive a bequest from them, which constitutes strong support for the selfish bequest motive or the exchange motive (much stronger than in the United States), but we find that their caregiving behavior is also heavily influenced by the strength of their altruism toward their parents and social norms.
Keywords: caregiving; bequest; altruism; social norms; Japan
JEL Codes: D12; D64; D91; E21; J14
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| expectation of receiving a bequest (beqexp) (D14) | caregiving behavior (care1) (D64) |
| expectation of receiving a bequest (beqexp) (D14) | caregiving behavior (care2) (D64) |
| expectation of receiving a bequest (beqexp) (D14) | caregiving behavior (care3) (D64) |
| strength of altruism (childaltruism) (D64) | caregiving behavior (care1) (D64) |
| strength of altruism (childaltruism) (D64) | caregiving behavior (care2) (D64) |
| strength of altruism (childaltruism) (D64) | caregiving behavior (care3) (D64) |
| social norms (eldestson) (Z13) | caregiving behavior (care1) (D64) |
| social norms (eldestson) (Z13) | caregiving behavior (care2) (D64) |
| social norms (eldestson) (Z13) | caregiving behavior (care3) (D64) |
| number of siblings (nsib) (J12) | caregiving behavior (care1) (D64) |
| number of siblings (nsib) (J12) | caregiving behavior (care2) (D64) |
| number of siblings (nsib) (J12) | caregiving behavior (care3) (D64) |