The Emerging Role of Grandparents in Asia

This paper utilizes several recent datasets to examine the role of grandparents in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand. Due to past high fertility, those over 50 in these countries have a large number of grandchildren, and due to the tradition of extended family coresidence, more than half have grandchildren living with them. Grandparents provide both direct assistance to their children and grandchildren, through time devoted to childcare, and indirect assistance, by taking responsibility for major household functions. The extent of this assistance and the factors associated with its provision are analyzed. Across all three countries, grandparents appear to be heavily engaged in assisting with grandchildren.

Dataset(s): Phillipine Elderly Survey, 1996, Survey of the Middle Aged and Elderly in Taiwan, 1996, Survey of the Welfare of the Elderly in Thailand (SWET), 1995.