Private monetary transfers in rural China: Are families altruistic?

Monetary transfers between relatives may be motivated by altruism, or they may represent payments for services rendered. Data from a large 1988 household survey are used to test these hypotheses and to study the size and direction of transfers in rural China. The analysis suggests that altruism alone cannot explain the observed transfers and that exchange may be involved. Most of the money flows appear to be transfers from adult children to elderly parents and remittances from migrants. Child care is likely to be one of the main services that parents render to adult children in exchange for money.