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Transfers From Migrants To Their Children: Evidence That Altruism And Cultural Factors Matter

Author

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  • François‐Charles Wolff
  • Seymour Spilerman
  • Claudine Attias‐Donfut
Abstract
This paper focuses on the determinants of financial inter vivos transfers by migrants living in France in 2003 to their adult children. From a theoretical viewpoint, such transfers may be explained either by altruism or by exchange. While parents would direct their assistance to their less well off children under altruism, support should be channeled to children who live nearby their parents under the exchange motive. We assess the relevance of these two motives using the French PRI survey. Unequal sharing is frequently observed and children are more likely to receive financial transfers when they are in poor circumstance, but not necessarily when living in proximity to parents. We also emphasize the role of cultural factors as determinants of the parental allocation among children. Muslim parents, in particular, are more likely to make transfers to sons than to daughters.

Suggested Citation

  • François‐Charles Wolff & Seymour Spilerman & Claudine Attias‐Donfut, 2007. "Transfers From Migrants To Their Children: Evidence That Altruism And Cultural Factors Matter," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 53(4), pages 619-644, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:53:y:2007:i:4:p:619-644
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4991.2007.00248.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Fran�ois-Charles Wolff, 2015. "Do the Return Intentions of French Migrants Affect Their Transfer Behaviour?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(10), pages 1358-1373, October.
    2. Elke Holst & Andrea Schäfer & Mechthild Schrooten, 2011. "Remittances and Gender: Theoretical Considerations and Empirical Evidence," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1099, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Andreea Mitrut & François-Charles Wolff, 2014. "Investing in children’s education: are Muslim immigrants different?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(4), pages 999-1022, October.
    4. Ralitza Dimova & François-Charles Wolff, 2008. "Grandchild Care Transfers by Ageing Immigrants in France: Intra-household Allocation and Labour Market Implications," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 24(3), pages 315-340, September.
    5. Loren Brandt & Aloysius Siow & Hui Wang, 2015. "Compensating for unequal parental investments in schooling," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 28(2), pages 423-462, April.
    6. Signe-Mary McKernan & Caroline Ratcliffe & Margaret Simms & Sisi Zhang, 2014. "Do Racial Disparities in Private Transfers Help Explain the Racial Wealth Gap? New Evidence From Longitudinal Data," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(3), pages 949-974, June.
    7. Albertini,Marco, 2016. "Ageing and family solidarity in Europe : patterns and driving factors of intergenerational support," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7678, The World Bank.

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