Intergenerational Transfers : The Influence of Children’s Support for Parent on Parents’ Bequest Decisions

The intergenerational transfer between parents and children is a major concern due to low birth rates and aging society of Korea. This study investigated the influences of children’s support for parent regarding parents' decision to bequest, including the influences of parental characteristics, household-related factors, and characteristics of children. The data are the 5th wave of KReIS, a sample of 1,834 married household heads(HHs), which were classified into 142 baby boomers (1955-1963), 534 post-liberation HHs (1945-1954), and 1,158 Japanese-era HHs (-1945). The results were as follows: First, 49.3% of baby boomer HHs, 59.2% of post-liberation HHs, and 59.1% of Japanese-era HHs, were willing to make bequest decision. Second, in the baby boomer HHs, although the children’s contact with their parents represented an emotional resource transfer, a child’s economic resource transfer to his/her parents did not affect the parents’ bequest decisions. However, in the post- liberation HHs, children’s contact with parents, and economic resource transfers were significant variables. In addition, in the Japanese-era HHs, only children’s contact with their parents was a significant variable. Third, in the baby boomer HHs, the variables that influenced parents’ bequest decisions were household financial assets and having a daughter rather than having son and daughter. However, the variables that heavily influenced bequest decisions of the post-liberation HHs were the presence of a spouse, home ownership, household expenditures, and satisfaction of relationships with children. In the Japanese-era HHs, the variables that significantly affected parents’ bequest decisions were home ownership, household expenditures, and household financial assets.