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Despite the large number of studies of intergenerational aid, the nature of family resource redistribution through the life cycle is not well understood. In particular, conflicting theories have been advanced concerning the nature of transfers involving the elderly. It is proposed that the solution to the present confusion lies in the concept of a structure as a system of transformations. The approach taken here proposes an underlying linear redistribution principle and the availability of transaction capacities as a modifying principle. Capacities of different kinds are presumed to decline at different rates in the later stages of the life cycle.
David Cheal (Tue,) studied this question.