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The time cost of care

Author

Listed:
  • Kimberly Fisher

    (ISER, University of Essex)

  • Michael Bittman

    (Department of Sociology, University of New England)

  • Patricia Hill

    (Department of Sociology, University of New England)

  • Cathy Thomson

    (Department of Sociology, University of New England)

Abstract

Extensive small scale studies have documented that when people assume the role of assisting a person with impairments or an older person, care activities account for a significant portion of their daily routines. Nevertheless, little research has investigated the problem of measuring the time that carers spend in care-related activities. This paper contrasts two different measures of care time – an estimated average weekly hours question in the 1998 Australian Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, and diary estimates from the 1997 national Australian Time Use Survey. This study finds that diaries provide information for a more robust estimate, but only after one models the time use patterns in the days of carers to identify care-related activities, which diarists do not necessarily record as care. Such a measure of care time reveals that even people who offer only occasional assistance to a person with impairments tend to spend the equivalent of more than 10 minutes a day providing care. Most caregivers undertake the equivalent of a part-time job to help a friend or family member. Summing the average caregiving time provided by all household members reveals that over a quarter of Australian households caring for an adult or child provide the equivalent of a full-time employee’s labour, and another quarter work between 20 and 39 total weekly hours to provide informal care.

Suggested Citation

  • Kimberly Fisher & Michael Bittman & Patricia Hill & Cathy Thomson, 2005. "The time cost of care," electronic International Journal of Time Use Research, Research Institute on Professions (Forschungsinstitut Freie Berufe (FFB)) and The International Association for Time Use Research (IATUR), vol. 2(1), pages 54-66, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:leu:journl:2005:vol2:p54-66
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Tania Burchardt, 2008. "Time and Income Poverty," CASE Reports casereport57, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    2. Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Marcén, Miriam & Molina, José Alberto, 2007. "How Does the Presence of Children Affect Dependent Care? A Psycho-Economic Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 2726, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Keating, Norah C. & Fast, Janet E. & Lero, Donna S. & Lucas, Sarah J. & Eales, Jacquie, 2014. "A taxonomy of the economic costs of family care to adults," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 3(C), pages 11-20.
    4. José Giménez-Nadal & Miriam Marcén & Raquel Ortega, 2012. "Substitution and Presence Effects of Children on Mothers’ Adult Care Time," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 2-10, March.
    5. Sean Urwin & Yiu‐Shing Lau & Thomas Mason, 2019. "Investigating the relationship between formal and informal care: An application using panel data for people living together," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(8), pages 984-997, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Care; unpaid work; time estimation; family and gender roles; informal economic activity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J17 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Value of Life; Foregone Income
    • J19 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Other
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General

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