Are Family Transfers Crowded Out by Public Transfers?

B-Tier
Journal: Scandanavian Journal of Economics
Year: 2002
Volume: 104
Issue: 4
Pages: 587-604

Authors (5)

Werner GÜth (not in RePEc) Theo Offerman (not in RePEc) Jan Potters (Universiteit van Tilburg) Martin Strobel (Maastricht University) Harrie A. A. Verbon (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.402 = (α=2.01 / 5 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We give an account of an overlapping–generations experiment with multiple families in which voluntary transfers can take the form of support to the elderly or grants to children. Support to the old is a purely intergenerational (intra–family) transfer, whereas grants to children also involve an element of intra–generational (inter–family) redistribution through a compulsory pension system. Our data show that higher compulsory inter–family transfers lead subjects to place relatively more emphasis on support instead of grants: grants are crowded out, but support is not significantly affected. The efficiency of voluntary transfers increases, however. Furthermore, if subjects give transfers, they do not use tokens of direct reciprocity; evidence of indirect reciprocity in transfer behavior can only be obtained for the case where compulsory transfers are high. JEL classification: C91; H55

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:scandj:v:104:y:2002:i:4:p:587-604
Journal Field
General
Author Count
5
Added to Database
2026-01-29