Kohler Iliana V, Kohler Hans-Peter, Anglewicz Philip, Behrman Jere R
Frederick J. Warren Professor of Demography, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA;
Demogr Res. 2012 Dec 13;27:775-834. doi: 10.4054/demres.2012.27.27.
Intergenerational transfer patterns in sub-Saharan Africa are poorly understood, despite the alleged importance of support networks to ameliorate the complex implications of the HIV/AIDS epidemic for families.
There is a considerable need for research on intergenerational support networks and transfers to better understand the mechanisms through which extended families cope with the HIV/AIDS epidemic and potentially alleviate some of its consequences in sub-Saharan Africa, and to comprehend how transfers respond-or not-to perceptions about own and other family members' health.
Using the 2008 round of the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH), we estimate the age patterns and the multiple directions of financial and non-financial transfer flows in rural Malawi-from prime-aged respondents to their elderly parents and adult children age 15 and up. We also estimate the social, demographic and economic correlates of financial and non-financial transfers of financial intergenerational transfers in this context.
Our findings are that: (1) intergenerational financial and non-financial transfers are widespread and a key characteristic of family relationships in rural Malawi; (2) downward and upward transfers are importantly constrained and determined by the availability of transfer partners (parents or adult children); (3) financial net transfers are strongly age-patterned and the middle generations are net-providers of transfers; (4) non-financial transfers are based on mutual assistance rather than reallocation of resources; and (5) intergenerational transfers are generally not related to health status, including HIV positive status.
尽管支持网络对于缓解艾滋病毒/艾滋病疫情给家庭带来的复杂影响具有重要意义，但人们对撒哈拉以南非洲地区的代际转移模式却知之甚少。
迫切需要开展关于代际支持网络和转移的研究，以更好地理解大家庭应对艾滋病毒/艾滋病疫情并可能减轻其在撒哈拉以南非洲地区某些后果的机制，并了解转移如何（或不如何）回应有关自身及其他家庭成员健康状况的认知。
利用马拉维家庭与健康纵向研究（MLSFH）2008年的数据，我们估算了马拉维农村地区从处于黄金年龄的受访者到其老年父母以及15岁及以上成年子女之间资金和非资金转移流动的年龄模式及多个方向。我们还估算了在这种背景下资金代际转移中资金和非资金转移的社会、人口和经济关联因素。
我们的研究结果表明：（1）代际资金和非资金转移很普遍，是马拉维农村家庭关系的一个关键特征；（2）向下和向上转移受到重要限制，并取决于转移伙伴（父母或成年子女）的可得性；（3）资金净转移具有强烈的年龄模式，中年一代是转移的净提供者；（4）非资金转移基于互助而非资源重新分配；（5）代际转移通常与健康状况无关，包括艾滋病毒阳性状况。
