Between Altruism and Moral Obligation : The Role of Religiosity in Upstream Family Transfer in Indonesia

This study addresses the uncertainty of future parental support caused by the absence of formal contracts and the limitation of pure altruism. It examines how religiosity, via cultural transmission, transforms intergenerational transfers into impure altruism through the utility of warm glow. Utilizing Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) wave five data, the research applies Generalized Structural Equation Modeling (GSEM). The primary unit of analysis consists of Muslim children aged 25 to 50 who live apart from their parents. The empirical results demonstrate that religiosity effectively generates warm glow utility rooted in the fulfillment of moral obligations. However, the impact reveals a sharp gender asymmetry in family support. Religiosity serves as a robust internal commitment device for mothers but remains statistically insignificant for fathers. Consequently, religiosity functions as a reliable family contract enforcement for mothers while remaining fragile for fathers. Social security policies must adopt gender specific approaches to mitigate the risk of crowding out informal family support.