IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/revinw/v43y1997i2p191-209.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Family Safety Nets And Economic Transition: A Study Of Worker Households In Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Donald Cox
  • Emmanuel Jimenez
  • Wlodek Okrasa

Abstract

Can Eastern European families most severely impoverished during the transition to capitalism rely on private family safety nets? This question is likely critical for the transition's success, but little is known about family networks in Eastern Europe. We analyze newly available Polish household surveys, conducted both before and after Poland's economic transition, which measure private inter‐household transfers. Such transfers are large and widespread in Poland, and in many ways appear to function like means‐tested public transfers. They flow from high to low‐income households and are targeted to young couples, families with many children and those experiencing illness. Private transfer patterns also suggest that they are responsive to liquidity constraints. Our results from 1987 data indicate that private transfers could fill a non‐trivial portion of the income gap left by unemployment. However, we also find evidence from 1992 data suggesting that family networks weakened somewhat after the transition.

Suggested Citation

  • Donald Cox & Emmanuel Jimenez & Wlodek Okrasa, 1997. "Family Safety Nets And Economic Transition: A Study Of Worker Households In Poland," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 43(2), pages 191-209, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:43:y:1997:i:2:p:191-209
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4991.1997.tb00214.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4991.1997.tb00214.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1475-4991.1997.tb00214.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. William G. Gale & John Karl Scholz, 1994. "Intergenerational Transfers and the Accumulation of Wealth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 145-160, Fall.
    2. Gary S. Becker & Nigel Tomes, 1994. "Human Capital and the Rise and Fall of Families," NBER Chapters, in: Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education, Third Edition, pages 257-298, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Mr. Jacob A. Frenkel & Mr. Guillermo Calvo, 1991. "From Centrally-Planned to Market Economies: The Road from CPE to PCPE," IMF Working Papers 1991/017, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Cox, Donald, 1987. "Motives for Private Income Transfers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(3), pages 508-546, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wolff, Francois-Charles & Laferrere, Anne, 2006. "Microeconomic models of family transfers," Handbook on the Economics of Giving, Reciprocity and Altruism, in: S. Kolm & Jean Mercier Ythier (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Giving, Altruism and Reciprocity, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 13, pages 889-969, Elsevier.
    2. Stefan Hochguertel & Henry Ohlsson, 2009. "Compensatory inter vivos gifts," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(6), pages 993-1023.
    3. Kuhn, Randall & Stillman, Steven, 2004. "Understanding Interhousehold Transfers in a Transition Economy: Evidence from Russia," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(1), pages 131-156, October.
    4. Attanasio, Orazio & Rios-Rull, Jose-Victor, 2000. "Consumption smoothing in island economies: Can public insurance reduce welfare?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(7), pages 1225-1258, June.
    5. Lei, Xiaoyan & Giles, John & Hu, Yuqing & Park, Albert & Strauss, John & Zhao, Yaohui, 2012. "Patterns and correlates of intergenerational non-time transfers : evidence from CHARLS," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6076, The World Bank.
    6. Anna Baranowska-Rataj, 2012. "What would your parents say? The impact of cohabitation on intergenerational relations in traditional societies," Working Papers 50, Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics.
    7. Mitrut, Andreea & Nordblom, Katarina, 2007. "Motives for Private Gift Transfers: Theory and Evidence from Romania," Working Papers in Economics 262, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics, revised 30 Apr 2008.
    8. Sergei Guriev & Barry W. Ickes, 2000. "Microeconomic Aspects of Economic Growth in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, 1950-2000," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 348, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    9. Carolina Alban Conto, 2021. "Does Distance-Driven Information Asymmetry Affect Private Income Transfers? Theory and Evidence From Colombia," Working Papers hal-03192955, HAL.
    10. Pedro Albarran & Orazio P. Attanasio, 2002. "Do Public Transfers Crowd Out Private Transfers?: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Mexico," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2002-06, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Maria Amelina & Dan Chiribuca & Stephen Knack, 2004. "Mapped In or Mapped Out? The Romanian Poor in Inter-household and Community Networks," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 14934.
    12. Tomini, Florian & Hagen-Zanker, Jessica, 2010. "How has internal migration in Albania affected the receipt of transfers from family and friends?," MPRA Paper 29478, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Christoph Bühler & Ewa Fratczak, 2005. "Learning from others and receiving support: the impact of personal networks on fertility intentions in Poland," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2005-017, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    14. Zuleika Ferre, 2004. "Una Aproximación al Apoyo Inter-hogares," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 1604, Department of Economics - dECON.
    15. Hungerman, Daniel M., 2014. "Public goods, hidden income, and tax evasion: Some nonstandard results from the warm-glow model," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 188-202.
    16. Dimova, Ralitza & Wolff, François-Charles, 2008. "Are private transfers poverty and inequality reducing? Household level evidence from Bulgaria," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 584-598, December.
    17. McKernan, Signe-Mary & Pitt, Mark M. & Moskowitz, David, 2005. "Use of the formal and informal financial sectors : does gender matter? empirical evidence from rural Bangladesh," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3491, The World Bank.
    18. Lam, Lai Ming & Paul, Saumik, 2013. "Displacement and Erosion of Informal Risk-Sharing: Evidence from Nepal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 42-55.
    19. World Bank, 2003. "Romania : Poverty Assessment, Volume 2. Background Papers," World Bank Publications - Reports 14700, The World Bank Group.
    20. Hagen-Zanker, Jessica, 2010. "Modest expectations: Causes and effects of migration on migrant households in source countries," MPRA Paper 29507, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    21. Barmon, Basanta Kumar, 2011. "Expenditure Patterns Of Some Informal Sectors In Bangladesh: An Empirical Evidence Of Dhaka City," Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, vol. 34(1-2), pages 1-16, December.
    22. Mitrut, Andreea & Wolff, François-Charles, 2009. "A causal test of the demonstration effect theory," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 103(1), pages 52-54, April.
    23. Mitrut, Andreea & Nordblom, Katarina, 2010. "Social norms and gift behavior: Theory and evidence from Romania," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(8), pages 998-1015, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Barnet-Verzat, Christine & Wolff, Francois-Charles, 2002. "Motives for pocket money allowance and family incentives," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 339-366, June.
    2. Maria G. Perozek, 2005. "Escaping the Samaritan's Dilemma: implications of a dynamic model of altruistic intergenerational transfers," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2005-67, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    3. Mauro Baranzini, 2005. "Modigliani's life-cycle theory of savings fifty years later," Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Quarterly Review, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, vol. 58(233-234), pages 109-172.
    4. Mauro Baranzini, 2005. "Modigliani's life-cycle theory of savings fifty years later," BNL Quarterly Review, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, vol. 58(233-234), pages 109-172.
    5. André Masson & Pierre Pestieau, 1991. "Tests des modèles d'héritage : un inventaire critique," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 100(4), pages 73-92.
    6. Luc Arrondel & François-Charles Wolff, 1998. "La nature des transferts inter vivos en France : investissements humains, aides financières et transmission du patrimoine," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 135(4), pages 1-27.
    7. Katarina Nordblom & Henry Ohlsson, 2011. "Bequests, gifts, and education: links between intergenerational transfers," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 343-358, April.
    8. Anna Christina D'Addio, 2007. "Intergenerational Transmission of Disadvantage: Mobility or Immobility Across Generations?," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 52, OECD Publishing.
    9. Mengyuan Zhou, 2022. "Does the Source of Inheritance Matter in Bequest Attitudes? Evidence from Japan," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 867-887, December.
    10. Andaluz, Joaquín & Marcén, Miriam & Molina, José Alberto, 2007. "Income Transfers, Welfare and Family Decisions," IZA Discussion Papers 2804, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. repec:hka:wpaper:2013-20 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Mengyuan Zhou, 2019. "The Effect of the Source of Inheritance on Bequest Attitudes: Evidence from Japan," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2019-018, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.
    13. Kaganovich, Michael & Zilcha, Itzhak, 1999. "Education, social security, and growth," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 289-309, February.
    14. Thakurata, Indrajit & D'Souza, Errol, 2018. "Child labour and human capital in developing countries - A multi-period stochastic model," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 67-81.
    15. Michael Hurd & James P. Smith, 2002. "Expected Bequests and Their Distribution," NBER Working Papers 9142, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Elinder, Mikael & Erixson, Oscar & Waldenström, Daniel, 2018. "Inheritance and wealth inequality: Evidence from population registers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 17-30.
    17. Kathleen McGarry, 2000. "Testing Parental Altruism: Implications of a Dynamic Model," NBER Working Papers 7593, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Abigail Loxton, 2019. "Gender Differences in Inter Vivos Transfers," CAEPR Working Papers 2019-002, Center for Applied Economics and Policy Research, Department of Economics, Indiana University Bloomington.
    19. Yang, Siqiang & Ripoll, Marla, 2023. "Financial transfers from parents to adult children," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 286-303.
    20. Edward C. Norton & Courtney Harold Van Houtven, 2006. "Inter‐vivos Transfers and Exchange," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 73(1), pages 157-172, July.
    21. Córdoba, Juan Carlos & Ripoll, Marla, 2013. "What explains schooling differences across countries?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 184-202.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • P35 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Public Finance

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:43:y:1997:i:2:p:191-209. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iariwea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.