[Reciprocity and care of the elderly. An anthropologic comparison between Ghana and the Netherlands]

The author compares the lives of elderly people in Ghana and the Netherlands from the perspective of reciprocity. As a rule, the Ghanaian government does not provide social security for the elderly. Their security is entirely in the hands of their relatives and depends on reciprocity. As a result, some elderly find themselves in a stressful situation, both in material and in emotional terms. A remarkable similarity is that the principle of reciprocity is applied in both societies; in Ghana openly, in the Netherlands in a more subtle and concealed way.