The literature on private transfers tends to differentiate between two main transfer motives: exchange and altruism (for a recent review see Laitner [1997]; for a recent empirical analysis see Cox and Rank [1992]). An exchange-driven transfer is positively correlated with the income of the...

We study the joint role of altruism and impatience, and the impact of evolution in the formation of long-term time preferences and in the determination of optimal consumption and optimal bequests. We show how the consumption paths of dynasties relate to altruism and to impatience, and we reason...