Why Do Children Take Care of Their Elderly Parents? Are the Japanese Any Different?

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in Asian Development Bank InstituteThe Working Paper series is a continuation of the formerly named Discussion Paper series; the numbering of the papers continued without interruption or change. ADBI's working papers reflect initial ideas on a topic and are posted online for discussion. ADBI encourages readers to post their comments on the main page for each working paper (given in the citation below). Some working papers may develop into other forms of publication. Charles Yuji Horioka is vice president and research professor at the Asian Growth Research Institute, Kitakyushu, Japan. Emin Gahramanov is associate professor at the American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Aziz Hayat and Xueli Tang are senior lecturers at Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, Burwood, Australia.The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of ADBI, ADB, its Board of Directors, or the governments they represent. ADBI does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use. Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms.Working papers are subject to formal revision and correction before they are finalized and considered published. AbstractWe conduct a theoretical and empirical analysis of why children live with (or near) their parents and provide care and assistance to them using microdata from a Japanese household survey, the Osaka University Preference Parameter Study. 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 strategic bequest motive, but that their caregiving behavior is also heavily influenced by the strength of their altruism toward their parents and social norms.

Is the Selfish Life-Cycle Model More Applicable in Japan and, If So, Why? A Literature Survey

“…(5) Kohara and Ohtake (2011) find that the educational attainment of parents has a positive and statistically significant impact on the probability that their children take care of them during old age. (6) Horioka et al (2018) find that whether or not children expect to receive a bequest from their parents has a positive and statistically significant impact on the probability that they live with or near their parents and on the probability that they help their parents with housework.…”

Satisfaction With Children’s Achievements and Health Outcomes in a Sample of Community Older Adults in Nigeria

“…Adult children form part of the support and care network for older adults worldwide ( Haberkern & Szydlik, 2010 ; Horioka et al, 2017 ). However, unlike in developed economies where formal care is provided, most older adults in Nigeria depend almost entirely on their adult children to meet social, economic, and health needs ( Akinrolie et al, 2020 ; Mbam et al, 2022 ; Togonu-Bickersteth, 1989 ).…”