Money is Time: Geographical Distance and Intergenerational Support to Aging Parents in Rural China

This study examines the effects of the geographical distance between adult offspring and their elderly parents on their support provided to their parents in rural China. Monetary and non-monetary support is closely related to the physical and psychological well-being of the elderly. Three waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) are used to identify a causal effect of the location of the adult offspring on outcomes such as financial transfers to the parents and provision of emotion/physical support. We find that the effects vary with the type of support. The effect of geographical distance on financial support sent by adult children to elderly parents shows a semi-inverted ‘U-shaped’ trend that first increases and then slowly decreases. The frequency of visit by the adult child to elderly parents decreases significantly as distance increase. Further analysis examines the heterogeneity of these effects. The paper combines theoretical and empirical evidence to illustrate how adult children make use of their limited time and money to provide parental support when they migrate different distances from home.