Measuring voluntary
interhousehold transfers in Canada
interhousehold transfers in Canada
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By Jackson Chung
Some Canadians receive assistance in money, goods or services from other households to support their current consumption. Such transfers are not usually included in the recipient's income. This article examines the conceptual and measurement issues related to voluntary interhousehold transfers in Canada using data from income, expenditure and wealth surveys.
In 2008, Canadian households received an estimated $8.5 billion in voluntary interhousehold transfers. This amount is twice as large as court-ordered alimony and child support payments and is similar in magnitude to social assistance or child tax benefits.
About 7% of households received voluntary interhousehold transfers in 2008. The median transfer received was $2,500—equivalent to 5% of recipients' median household income.
After adjusting for inflation, the amount of voluntary interhousehold transfers sent increased by 46% between 1998 and 2008. In comparison, household income increased by 33% and charitable donations by 32% in the same period.
The incidence and amount of interhousehold donations increased with household income, both more than doubling from the bottom to the top quartile. The pattern of receipt was much less clear cut: households in the bottom and top quarters were somewhat more likely to receive transfers than those in the middle two quartiles.
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