ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the implications of the Ghana case study for broader theoretical or policy debates. It focuses on developing conceptual inferences about intergenerational obligation norms that go beyond a primary relevance to the African or developing world context. Like Ghana, other developing world societies also currently face questions about the nature and causes of apparent shifts particularly in material family support for older people. The Ghana case study clearly suggests that finding answers hinges, to a great extent, on developing a fuller appreciation, than so far exists, of how, at the micro level, filial obligation norms operate in given personal and structural circumstances, to shape adult children's support decisions. At the empirical level, importantly, normative limits in filial obligation linked to prior obligations to the conjugal family, have clearly been indicated by several Western studies exploring public perceptions of the family obligation norms.
