IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/demogr/v52y2015i3p883-904.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Strengthening or Weakening? The Impact of Universal Health Insurance on Intergenerational Coresidence in Taiwan

Author

Listed:
  • Hsin-Ling Hsieh
  • Shin-Yi Chou
  • Echu Liu
  • Hsien-Ming Lien

Abstract

In this article, we exploit a unique natural experiment—the implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI) in Taiwan in 1995—to examine how the introduction of universal health insurance increases or decreases the likelihood of intergenerational coresidence. Five waves of surveys from the Survey of Health and Living Status of the Elderly in Taiwan between 1989 and 2003 are employed, and models with various specifications are estimated. Our results indicate a mixed relationship between the likelihood of intergenerational coresidence and the enactment of NHI. Although NHI on average reduces the probability that elderly parents live with their adult children by approximately 6.6 %, the likelihood of intergenerational coresidence increases among families benefiting most from NHI, such as those with unhealthy elderly mothers and fewer children. Copyright Population Association of America 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Hsin-Ling Hsieh & Shin-Yi Chou & Echu Liu & Hsien-Ming Lien, 2015. "Strengthening or Weakening? The Impact of Universal Health Insurance on Intergenerational Coresidence in Taiwan," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(3), pages 883-904, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:52:y:2015:i:3:p:883-904
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-015-0387-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s13524-015-0387-0
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13524-015-0387-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Becker, Gary S, 1974. "A Theory of Social Interactions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(6), pages 1063-1093, Nov.-Dec..
    2. Barro, Robert J, 1974. "Are Government Bonds Net Wealth?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(6), pages 1095-1117, Nov.-Dec..
    3. Cox, Donald & Jakubson, George, 1995. "The connection between public transfers and private interfamily transfers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 129-167, May.
    4. Pallares-Miralles, Montserrat & Romero, Carolina & Whitehouse, Edward, 2012. "International patterns of pension provision II : a worldwide overview of facts and figures," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 70319, The World Bank.
    5. David A. Wise, 1990. "Issues in the Economics of Aging," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number wise90-1, March.
    6. Costa, Dora L, 1997. "Displacing the Family: Union Army Pensions and Elderly Living Arrangements," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(6), pages 1269-1292, December.
    7. Lisa Cameron, 2000. "The residency decision of elderly indonesians: A nested logit analysis," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(1), pages 17-27, February.
    8. Eric V. Edmonds & Kristin Mammen & Douglas L. Miller, 2005. "Rearranging the Family?: Income Support and Elderly Living Arrangements in a Low-Income Country," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(1).
    9. Gary V. Engelhardt & Jonathan Gruber & Cynthia D. Perry, 2005. "Social Security and Elderly Living Arrangements: Evidence from the Social Security Notch," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(2).
    10. Liliana E. Pezzin & Peter Kemper & James Reschovsky, 1996. "Does Publicly Provided Home Care Substitute for Family Care? Experimental Evidence with Endogenous Living Arrangements," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 31(3), pages 650-676.
    11. Cheolsung Park, 2003. "Are children repaying parental loans? Evidence from Malaysia using matched child-parent pairs," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 16(2), pages 243-263, May.
    12. Ettner, Susan L, 1994. "The Effect of the Medicaid Home Care Benefit on Long-Term Care Choices of the Elderly," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 32(1), pages 103-127, January.
    13. Bernheim, B Douglas & Shleifer, Andrei & Summers, Lawrence H, 1986. "The Strategic Bequest Motive," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(3), pages 151-182, July.
    14. Chou, Y. J. & Staiger, Douglas, 2001. "Health insurance and female labor supply in Taiwan," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 187-211, March.
    15. Chou, Shin-Yi & Liu, Jin-Tan & Hammitt, James K., 2003. "National Health Insurance and precautionary saving: evidence from Taiwan," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(9-10), pages 1873-1894, September.
    16. Emiko Takagi & Merril Silverstein & Eileen Crimmins, 2007. "Intergenerational Coresidence of Older Adults in Japan: Conditions for Cultural Plasticity," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 62(5), pages 330-339.
    17. Montserrat Pallares-Miralles & Carolina Romero & Edward Whitehouse, 2012. "A Worldwide Overview of Facts and Figures," World Bank Publications - Reports 11891, The World Bank Group.
    18. Steven Ruggles & Misty Heggeness, 2008. "Intergenerational Coresidence in Developing Countries," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 34(2), pages 253-281, June.
    19. Kathleen Mcgarry & Robert Schoeni, 2000. "Social security, economic growth, and the rise in elderly widows’ independence in the twentieth century," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(2), pages 221-236, May.
    20. Linda Martin, 1989. "Living Arrangements of the Elderly in Fiji, Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 26(4), pages 627-643, November.
    21. Kamhon Kan & Yen-Ling Lin, 2009. "The labor market effects of national health insurance: evidence from Taiwan," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 22(2), pages 311-350, April.
    22. Toni Richards & Michael White & Amy Tsui, 1987. "Changing living arrangements: A hazard model of transitions among household types," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 24(1), pages 77-97, February.
    23. Cox, Donald, 1987. "Motives for Private Income Transfers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(3), pages 508-546, June.
    24. Likwang Chen & Winnie Yip & Ming‐Cheng Chang & Hui‐Sheng Lin & Shyh‐Dye Lee & Ya‐Ling Chiu & Yu‐Hsuan Lin, 2007. "The effects of Taiwan's National Health Insurance on access and health status of the elderly," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(3), pages 223-242, March.
    25. Laurence J. Kotlikoff & John N. Morris, 1990. "Why Don't the Elderly Live with Their Children? A New Look," NBER Chapters, in: Issues in the Economics of Aging, pages 149-172, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    26. Robert Michael & Victor Fuchs & Sharon Scott, 1980. "changes in the propensity to live alone: 1950–1976," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 17(1), pages 39-56, February.
    27. Pezzin, Liliana E & Schone, Barbara Steinberg, 1997. "The Allocation of Resources in Intergenerational Households: Adult Children and Their Elderly Parents," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(2), pages 460-464, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Khiem, Phuong Huu & Linh, Dinh Hong & Tai, Do Anh & Dung, Nguyen Dac, 2020. "Does tuition fee policy reform encourage poor children’s school enrolment? Evidence from Vietnam," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 109-124.
    2. Yu-Chen Kuo & Jia-Huey Lin, 2020. "Picking the lock: how universal healthcare programs influence entrepreneurial activities," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 3-24, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Erin Hye-Won Kim, 2015. "Public transfers and living alone among the elderly," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(50), pages 1383-1408.
    2. Lingguo Cheng & Hong Liu & Ye Zhang & Zhong Zhao, 2018. "The heterogeneous impact of pension income on elderly living arrangements: evidence from China’s new rural pension scheme," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(1), pages 155-192, January.
    3. Deborah Cobb-Clark & Lisa A Cameron, 2005. "Do Coresidency with and Financial Transfers from Children Reduce the Need for Elderly Parents to Work in Developing Countries?," CEPR Discussion Papers 508, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    4. Juarez, Laura, 2009. "Crowding out of private support to the elderly: Evidence from a demogrant in Mexico," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(3-4), pages 454-463, April.
    5. Cameron, L. & Cobb-Clark, D., 2001. "Old-Age Support in Developing Countries: Labor Supply, Ingenerational Transfers and Living Arrangements," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 773, The University of Melbourne.
    6. Julie Zissimopoulos, 2001. "Resource Transfers to the Elderly: Do Adult Children Substitute Financial Transfers for Time Transfers?," Working Papers 01-05, RAND Corporation.
    7. Aldieri, Luigi & Fiorillo, Damiano, 2015. "Private monetary transfers and altruism: An empirical investigation on Italian families," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-15.
    8. Nikolov, Plamen & Adelman, Alan, 2019. "Do private household transfers to the elderly respond to public pension benefits? Evidence from rural China," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 14(C).
    9. Olivera, Javier, 2017. "The division of inter-vivos parental transfers in Europe," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 9(C), pages 41-51.
    10. Lai, Mun Sim & Orsuwan, Meechai, 2009. "Examining the Impact of Taiwan's Cash Allowance Program on Private Households," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(7), pages 1250-1260, July.
    11. Wakabayashi, Midori & Horioka, Charles Yuji, 2009. "Is the eldest son different? The residential choice of siblings in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 337-348, December.
    12. Pensieroso, Luca & Sommacal, Alessandro, 2014. "Economic development and family structure: From pater familias to the nuclear family," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 80-100.
    13. Grobon, Sébastien & Wolff, François-Charles, 2024. "Do public scholarships crowd out parental transfers? Evidence at the intensive margin from France," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    14. Nikolov, Plamen & Bonci, Matthew, 2020. "Do public program benefits crowd out private transfers in developing countries? A critical review of recent evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    15. Steven J. Haider & Kathleen McGarry, 2005. "Recent Trends in Resource Sharing Among the Poor," NBER Working Papers 11612, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Anette Reil-Held, 2006. "Crowding out or crowding in? Public and private transfers in Germany [Substituts ou compléments? Transferts publics et privés en Allemagne]," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 263-280, September.
    17. Eric V. Edmonds & Kristin Mammen & Douglas L. Miller, 2005. "Rearranging the Family?: Income Support and Elderly Living Arrangements in a Low-Income Country," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(1).
    18. Lisa Cameron & Deborah Cobb-Clark, 2008. "Do coresidency and financial transfers from the children reduce the need for elderly parents to works in developing countries?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 21(4), pages 1007-1033, October.
    19. Kristopher Gerardi & Yuping Tsai, 2014. "The Effect of Social Entitlement Programmes on Private Transfers: New Evidence of Crowding Out," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 81(324), pages 721-746, October.
    20. Rodrigo J. Raad & Gilvan R. Guedes, 2014. "Bequest choices under uncertainty," Textos para Discussão Cedeplar-UFMG 504, Cedeplar, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:52:y:2015:i:3:p:883-904. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.