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Bequests and Informal Long-Term Care: Evidence from HRS Exit Interviews

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  • Max Groneck

Abstract

Informal long-term caregiving for frail elderly individuals by their children may induce parents to compensate their children for their help. To test this hypothesis, I use the exit interview from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). My results show that the decision to care for one’s parents has a significant positive impact on the incidence and amount of bequests received. In addition, increasing the amount of care relative to one’s siblings significantly increases the proportion of bequest within a family. Furthermore, I find that the positive nexus of caregiving and bequest requires a written will as a contract between the parent and the helping child.

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  • Max Groneck, 2017. "Bequests and Informal Long-Term Care: Evidence from HRS Exit Interviews," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(2), pages 531-572.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:52:y:2017:i:2:p:531-572
    Note: DOI: 10.3368/jhr.52.2.1214-6839R1
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    Cited by:

    1. Diederich, Freya & König, Hans-Helmut & Brettschneider, Christian, 2021. "A longitudinal perspective on inter vivos transfers between children and their parents in need of long-term care," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    2. Kim, Kyeongkuk & Lee, Sang-Hyop & Halliday, Timothy J., 2021. "Intra-familial transfers, son preference, and retirement behavior in South Korea," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    3. Bérengère Davin & Xavier Joutard & Alain Paraponaris, 2019. ""If You Were Me": Proxy Respondents' Biases in Population Health Surveys," Working Papers halshs-02036434, HAL.
    4. Korfhage, Thorben, 2019. "Long-run consequences of informal elderly care and implications of public long-term care insurance," Ruhr Economic Papers 813, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    5. Francesconi, Marco & Pollak, Robert A. & Tabasso, Domenico, 2023. "Unequal bequests," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    6. Bonekamp, Johan & Wouterse, Bram, 2023. "Do different shocks in health matter for wealth?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    7. Canta, Chiara & Cremer, Helmuth, 2019. "Long-term care policy with nonlinear strategic bequests," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 548-566.
    8. Jiang, Nan & Kaushal, Neeraj, 2020. "How children's education affects caregiving: Evidence from parent’s last years of life," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    9. Eric French & Rory McGee & John Bailey Jones, 2022. "Savings after retirement," IFS Working Papers W22/53, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    10. Kim, Kyeongkuk & Lee, Sang-Hyop & Halliday, Timothy J., 2018. "The Betrayed Generation? Intra-Household Transfers and Retirement Behavior in South Korea," IZA Discussion Papers 11846, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Christine Ho, 2019. "Child’s gender, parental monetary investments and care of elderly parents in China," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 741-774, September.
    12. Emanuele Ciani & Claudio Deiana, 2018. "No free lunch, buddy: past housing transfers and informal care later in life," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 971-1001, December.

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