University of Tokyo

Abstract
Survey Number 0697
Survey Title Survey on Intra-household Sharing and Intergenerational Transfer, 2006
Depositor The Institute for Research on Household Economics
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Period of Data Use Permission One year
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Summary In Japan, the era of the long-lasting family image, in which the husband is the main earner, and the wife and children are dependents, is long past, and, increasingly, household behavior cannot be adequately discerned using existing analytical frameworks. In addition, as Japan becomes an aging society with a low birth rate, it is now difficult to maintain the existing social security system. Furthermore, “income inequality” has recently gained attention, and the influence of intergenerational transfer on it cannot be overlooked.

Under these conditions, the “Study of intra-household allocation and intergenerational transfer” project was conducted by the Institute for Research on Household Economics, for the purpose of ascertaining economic relationships within increasingly complicated family situations in recent years, in terms of “intra-household allocation” and “intergenerational transfer.”

Under this project, the “Survey on Intra-household Sharing and Intergenerational Transfer” (abbreviated title “Intra-household/Intergenerational Survey”) (Questionnaire title: “Questionnaire survey of home life”) was conducted as follows, verifying in terms of “intra-household allocation” whether intra-household allocation of consumption and leisure time was established by negotiations between household constituents and verifying in terms of “intergenerational transfer” which factors decided intergenerational income transfer through educational investment and inheritance and inter vivo gifts.

This survey was a questionnaire survey of married women aged 30 to 59 years nationwide and was wholly prepared and conducted by the above project. The purpose of this survey was an intensive examination of the economic behavior of individual households (consumption allocation, labor sharing, etc.) as governed by intra-household interpersonal relationships and economic relationships in contemporary Japan. Based on this purpose, this survey included the following three types of unique question items.

First were question items on intra-household allocation. These questions asked about the individual income and savings of survey subjects, their spouses, and other household members making up a household, changes therein (retrospective study), and, in addition to expected changes, allocations to children in expenditures. Furthermore, hypothetical questions were provided to indirectly observe intra-household bargaining power such as how money is allocated when there is an increase in income (of survey subjects and their spouses).

Second were question items about intergenerational transfer. These questions asked under what conditions inheritance was passed on (is to be passed on) by survey subjects to their children, not just what inheritance survey subjects received from their parents (inter vivo gifts, inheritance), and furthermore, whether there was an expectation of inheritance. In addition, these questions were not only about inheritance but asked in detail how transfers to children were invested in their education (or would be thus invested).

Third were question items on life consciousness. These questions asked not only about the level of satisfaction with life but also anxieties about the future (health, labor conditions [wages, promotion, workplace environment], natural disasters, etc.) and past related experiences (hospitalization, unemployment, damage from disasters). In addition, predictions of changes in income, savings, and expenditures from this year to the next were added as question items on household behavior.
Data Type quantitative research: micro data
Universe Married women aged 30 to 59 years
Unit of Observation Individual
Sample Size 2,814 people (4,200 people extracted, response rate: 67.00%)
Date of Collection 2006-10-06 ~ 2006-12-08
Time Period 2006 ~ 2006
Spatial Unit Japan
Japan
Sampling Procedure Probability: Multistage
Two-stage sampling
Mode of Data Collection Self-administered questionnaire: Paper
Placement (self-administered) method
Investigator The Institute for Research on Household Economics,survey carried out by the Public Opinion Research Center
DOI 10.34500/SSJDA.0697
Sponsors (Funds)
Related Publications (by the Investigator) Please refer to the abstract in Japanese.
Related Publications (based on Secondary Analysis) List of related publications (based on Secondary Analysis)
Documentation [Questionnaire]
Major Survey Items (1) Respondent and spouse:
- Length of marriage
- Attributes of family members (including family members living separately) (relationship,gender,age,school/work status,highest level of educational attainment,living together or separately,number of years of cohabitation,marital status)

(2) Childhood and siblings (brothers and sisters):
- Childhood caregivers
- Mother’s job when respondent was 6 years and 15 years old
- Father’s job when respondent was 15 years old
- Number of siblings (brothers and sisters) of respondent and spouse

(3) Respondent’s and spouse’s jobs (responses for both respondent and spouse):
- Current occupation
- Workplace size by number of employees
- Duties (employment status)
- Days worked in past month and daily regular working hours
- Actual days worked in past year

- Salary status/amount
- Length of employment at current workplace
- Changes in working situation and working hours compared to the same month last year

(4) First job:
- Duties (employment status) in first workplace
- Length of employment at the first workplace
- Length of period between graduating from school and starting work at the first workplace

(5) Household budget:
- Last year’s annual income and wage income of respondent/spouse/other cohabiting household members
- Respondent’s/spouse’s/overall household’s increase or decrease in annual income last year (compared to two years ago)
- Notable events that occurred this year, last year, and two years ago for respondent and spouse each (bankruptcy/dismissal, promotion, etc.)
- Outlook for increase or decrease in this year’s annual income of respondent/spouse/overall household (compared to last year)
- Allocations between household members when there is a 30,000-yen increase in monthly income of subject/spouse or 100,000 in extra income
- Person who manages an account to which salary is deposited
- Person who manages savings and financial assets
- Any secret savings and amounts thereof
- Amount of last month’s household expenditures per items and total living expenses
- Breakdown of household members’ expenditures for “clothes and footwear” and “culture, entertainment, and socializing”
- Changes in “total living expenses,” “clothing and footwear expenditures,” “culture, entertainment, and socializing expenditures” last year (compared to two years ago)/outlook for this year’s changes (compared to last year)
- Person who manages living expenses

(6) Savings and assets:
- Balance of financial assets held by subject/spouse/overall household
- Last year fluctuations in balance of financial assets (compared to two years ago)
- Present home loan balance
- End of last year fluctuations in home loan balance (compared to two years ago)
- Loan balance excluding home loan
- Fluctuations in loan balance other than home loan at the end of last year (compared to two years ago)
- Whether any loan applications refused in past three years

- Experience of giving up on borrowing before even applying for it in past three years
- Predictions of being refused a loan application in future
- Subject/spouse enrollment in private medical insurance
- Present type of residence
- Support from parents, if homeowner
- Total floor area of residence
- Present market value of residence and lot
- Whether respondent has any experience buying or selling a home in the past year

(7) Relationship to parents
- Whether respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents are alive
- Frequency of conversation with respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents
- Last year’s total income of respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents
- Intention of financial assistance for respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents
- Intention of assistance for respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents (housework, nursing,visits)
- Present type of residence of respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents
- Living arrangements of respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents (cohabiting or not,distance, etc.)
- Plan to cohabitate with respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents
- Quantity of assets of respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents
- Whether or not respondent receives any assistance with housework, childcare, or finances from respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents
- Health status of respondent’s/spouse’s parents
- Whether inheritance has been received or is expected from respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents
- Total amount of inheritance already received from respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents
- Details of inheritance expected to receive in the future from respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents
- Conditions of receiving inheritance from respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents
- Way respondent’s parents/spouse’s parents allocated (plan to allocate) inheritance

(8) Life consciousness:
- Standard of living of respondent/subject’s parents/spouse’s parents
- Level of satisfaction with life in general
- Anxieties about respondent’s own/spouse’s health
- Whether respondent thinks she can rely on public pension system for post-retirement finances
- Anxieties about reduced labor conditions at respondent’s/spouse’s workplace
- Anxieties about earthquakes, typhoons, and other natural disasters
- Experience with long-term hospitalization
- Subject/spouse experience with unemployment
- Experience with earthquakes, typhoons, or other natural disasters
- Personal bankruptcy experience
- Person who provides financial assistance/person to whom respondent wants to provide assistance

(9) Daily activity:
- Respondent’s/spouse’s time use (average time spent per day on each items in housework/childrearing/hobbies and entertainment) (weekdays/days off and holidays)

(10) Children:
- Number of children and number of children already graduated from school
- Main childcare provider (if children are preschool aged)
- Level of education desired for children
- Type of school children are presently attending (attended)
- Type of support presently received from children/respondent expects to receive in the future
- Monthly amount of financial assistance presently received from children/respondent expects to receive in the future
- Whether respondent will leave inheritance for children and the conditions thereof
- Details of inheritance to be left behind
- Method of allocating inheritance
Date of Release 2010/11/18
Topics in CESSDA Click here for details

Consumption and consumer behaviour
Income, property and investment/saving
Family life and marriage
Social and occupational mobility
Topics in SSJDA Economy/Industry/Management
Society/Culture
Version 1 : 2010-11-18
Notes for Users Variable and value labels are written in Japanese.