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Intra-familial transfers, son preference, and retirement behavior in South Korea

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  • Kim, Kyeongkuk
  • Lee, Sang-Hyop
  • Halliday, Timothy J.

Abstract

We consider the nexus of intra-familial transfers, the sex composition of the sibship, and parental retirement behavior in South Korea. To investigate this, we employ the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging and a research design that relies on plausibly exogenous variation in the sex composition of the sibship. We provide evidence that it costs more to raise sons than daughters in South Korea, particularly for older cohorts. Thus, in the absence of sufficient transfers from adult sons to parents, parents will fund their earlier investments in their sons by increasing their labor supply. Consistent with this, we show that parents with more adult sons are more likely to delay their retirement. In particular, a father with all sons has a probability of being retired that is 5.5–6.0 percentage points lower than a comparable father with all daughters. Fathers also work 16.8 percent more hours per week when their sibship consists of all sons. These effects are the most pronounced for poorer households and for older cohorts.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim, Kyeongkuk & Lee, Sang-Hyop & Halliday, Timothy J., 2021. "Intra-familial transfers, son preference, and retirement behavior in South Korea," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joecag:v:20:y:2021:i:c:s2212828x21000311
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeoa.2021.100338
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Retirement; Intra-familial transfers; Gender; Sex ratios;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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