MARTINA BRANDT Max-Planck-Institute for Social Law and Social Policy CHRISTIAN DEINDL University of Cologne* Intergenerational Transfers to Adult Children in Europe: Do Social Policies Matter? Understanding the role of social policies in intergenerational transfers from old to young people is especially important in times of population aging. This paper focuses on the influences of social expenditures and social services on financial support and on practical help from older parents to their adult children based on the first two waves from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE, N = 60,250 dyads from 13 European countries). Multilevel models showed that social policy plays an important role for intergenerational transfer patterns: The more public assistance was provided to citizens, the more likely parents supported their adult children financially and practically, but this support was less intense in terms of money and time given. Thus, the analyses support the specialization hypothesis that posits a division of labor between family and state for downward intergenerational transfers. Population aging in all Western societies leads to an increasing political and sociological interest in families and, especially, in intergenerational Munich Centre for the Economics of Aging, Max-Planck-Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, Amalienst 33, 80799 Munich, Germany (brandt@mea.mpisoc.mpg.de). *University of Cologne, Research Institute for Sociology, Greinst 2, 50939 Cologne, Germany (deindl@wiso.uni-koeln.de). This paper was edited by David Demo. Key Words: aging, family policy, intergenerational transfers, multilevel models, parent – child relations, social context. relations. Comparative research plays a major role in understanding the interdependencies between the state and the family. The focus on intergenerational support may help solve societal challenges emerging from a changing balance between old and young people. Many studies in this field focused on the growing care burdens for younger generations (Walker, Pratt, & Eddy, 1995). But we should not dismiss the idea that the potentials of older persons are growing as well. Apart from the favorable financial situation of many older persons due to relatively high pension levels in Western countries, aging is no longer automatically associated with frailty and decay (e.g., Avramov & Maskova, 2003). People today not only live longer than in the past, they also often spend their ‘‘extra years’’ in comparatively good health (e.g., Fries, 2000) and actively involved in social life (Hank, 2011). This holds for their role in the family as well. Recent studies of intergenerational transfers found significant rates of financial transfers and grandparental support from middle-aged parents to their adult children, whereas children tended to provide care for their parents later in life (Albertini, Kohli, & Vogel, 2007; Hank & Buber, 2009; Igel, Brandt, Haberkern, & Szydlik, 2009). All in all, older people were the net givers in terms of private family transfers that mostly flow downwards from older to younger family generations (e.g., Spitze & Logan, 1992). Moreover, there is growing evidence that different welfare systems influence patterns of intergenerational solidarity and support (e.g., Daatland & Lowenstein, 2005). In welfare states with generous public support for people in need of assistance, family members are Journal of Marriage and Family 75 (February 2013): 235 – 251 235 DOI:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.01028.x