Familial Exchange and Intergenerational Contact in East Asian Societies

This paper has two goals. The first one is to propose a typology of familial exchange between adult children and their parents. The second is to examine whether such exchanges influence frequency of contact with parents in four East Asian societies. By specifying the reciprocation of finance and household chores, we suggest four types of familial exchange: balanced (indicating regular exchange), credited, indebted and self-reliant (indicating infrequent exchange). Drawing data from the East Asian Social Survey, we conduct regression analysis of a subsample who did not live with parents, and provide strong evidence for the effects of spatial distance and intergenerational exchange. Neither family structure nor parental demands exert substantial influence.