Under a traditional inter-generational contract, Japanese adult children provided care to their parents within co-residency and, in return, inherited family wealth. In Britain, with its long-established welfare state and people's preference for independent living, the provision of such care does not necessarily go hand-in-hand with inheritance. This research examined the changing trends of exchanging care and inheritance between older parents and their adult children in the two ageing societies - Britain and Japan. Through a series of in-depth interviews, the distinct ways in which specific cultures, institutions, laws and housing markets combine to influence different 'generational contracts' were explored.
