Intergenerational effects on individual charitable donation: an innovative study on philanthropy in China

The family, which is the basic unit of Chinese society, serves as the micro foundation of individual charitable behavior. This study examines the intergenerational effects on individual charitable donations in China based on China’s unique social structure, traditional culture, and philanthropic history. The study identifies the mutual influence of children’s charitable donation and parent’s charitable donation through both downward and upward intergenerational transmission. The effect of upward transmission is stronger than that of downward inheritance, especially among families with children born in the 1980s and 1990s. The findings reflect the “family-oriented” culture of Chinese society and highlight the necessity and urgency of developing a charitable donation theory rooted in Chinese experiences.