LIVING ARRANGEMENTS INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSFERS AND GRANDPARENTS’ ECONOMIC WELLBEING

摘要

More and more young adults are co-residing in their parents’ home since the 1960s. Grandparents are more likely to live with their grandchildren and take more responsibilities for grandchild cares since the 1970s. These trends suggest that the co-residence is increasing among older people to help their offspring. However, little is known about how grandparents’ co-residence arrangements influenced their intergenerational transfers and economic wellbeing. The current study fills the gap by examining this topic with data from 1998–2014 Health and Retirement Survey (HRS), which includes more than 30,000 respondents over age 50. Using the growth curve models, the study investigated the effects of co-residence arrangements on grandparents’ economic resources, and instrumental and financial exchanges between grandparents and their offspring. The study subsequently examined the variations by gender and race/ethnicity. The findings showed that co-resident arrangements reduced grandparents’ economic resources, including total net worth, rated house conditions, and neighborhood safety, regardless of gender and race/ethnicity. Regarding to instrumental transfers, co-resident arrangements increased grandparents’ grandchild care hours, but increased more among women and among African American and Hispanic grandparents. Co-resident arrangements increased the expected future help from relatives for white grandparents, but not for African American and Hispanic grandparents. Regarding to financial transfers, co-resident arrangements reduced grandparents’ money transfers to children, and increased money transfers from children. African American grandparents and women are more likely to receive money transfers from children, but Hispanic grandparents are less likely to receive money transfers from children.