Jed Friedman , Truong Si Anh , and Bui The Cuong Intergenerational Exchanges in Vietnam : Family Size

Declining fertility in many Asian countries is leading to concern about its implications for support and care of the elderly. This study examines variations in intergenerational support by family size, family composition and location of children in Vietnam based on recent regional surveys in the north and south of the country. Results confirm the central role of children in providing material and other assistance to elderly parents but the relationships with family size depend on the type of support considered. Coresidence with a married child shows little relation to family size while the incidence of material transfers to parents increases with the number of children. Elders with larger families also receive support from a greater number of children. In both samples, the likelihood of a son or daughter providing material and social support is not very different. However, coresidence with married children is largely limited to sons in the north. Southern elders also favor coresidence with a married son but are far more flexible in this respect. In both samples, while having a son increases the chances of coresidence, having more than one son has no additional effect. Overall the results suggest that the smaller size of families in the future are not likely, in and of themselves, to adversely impact the well-being of Vietnamese elders in a major way with the possible exception of those in the north who have no sons. Data sets used: Survey Of Elderly in the Red River Delta: Vietnam, 1996 // Survey of Elderly in Ho Chi Minh City and Environs: Vietnam, 1997 About the Authors: John Knodel is a Professor of Sociology and a Research Associate at the Population Studies Center, University of Michigan. Jed Friedman is a Doctoral Student in Economics and a Trainee at the Population Studies Center, University of Michigan. Truong Si Anh is a Researcher and Section Head at the Institute of Economic Research, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Bui The Cuong is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the Institute of Sociology, Hanoi, Vietnam. Acknowledgments: The research on which this article is based has been partially funded by a grant from the U.S. National Institute on Aging ("The Vietnamese Elderly in a Time of Change," R03AG14886). Additional project support has been provided by the Fogarty International Center at the U.S. National Institute of Health (D43 TW/HD00657). Daniel Goodkind provided helpful comments during preparation of the study.