The relationship between upstream intergenerational transfers and wealth of older adults: evidence from Thailand

This paper examines the relationship between the wealth of older parents and the receipt of in-kind and monetary transfers from non-resident adult children. Based on a nationally representative sample from the 2007 and 2011 Surveys of Older Persons in Thailand (N = 46,216), a sample-selected bivariate ordered probit model is employed. Different measures of wealth are explored, including home ownership, income and savings. The results show that the relationships between each measure of wealth and the receipt of in-kind as well as monetary transfers are positive and statistically significant. Nonlinearities are observed with regard to income but not home ownership and savings. The fact that wealthier parents receive larger transfers implies that, to promote old-age financial security, the government should not only devise a strategy to incentivise adult children to make larger upstream transfers, but also target and provide additional support for financially vulnerable older adults. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.