Abstract:
This study investigates the impact of institutional factors, specifically the introduction of Seguro Popular, a Mexican public health insurance program, on upward intergenerational transfers from adult children to their older parents. Using data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS), covering years before and after the adoption of Seguro Popular, the research aims to answer whether public health insurance programs influence the financial and non-financial support older adults receive from their children. This analysis reveals that enrollment in Seguro Popular increases the likelihood of older adults receiving monetary transfers from their children while having no significant impact on nonmonetary transfers or the size of the monetary transfers. These findings contribute to the ongoing debate about how public interventions affect family support dynamics, suggesting a “crowding in” effect where public and private transfers are complementary rather than substitutes. The study also has important policy implications for enhancing the welfare of older adults in contexts where state-provided social safety nets are limited.
