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Economic Spillover Effects of Intensive Unpaid Caregiving

Author

Listed:
  • Josephine C. Jacobs

    (Palo Alto Veterans Health Administration)

  • Courtney H. Van Houtven

    (Duke University)

  • Terri Tanielian

    (RAND Corporation)

  • Rajeev Ramchand

    (RAND Corporation)

Abstract

Background Growing evidence has documented economic spillover effects experienced by intensive caregivers across the lifecycle. These spillover effects are rarely incorporated in economic analyses of health interventions. When these costs are captured, it is shown that commonly applied methods for valuing caregiver time may be underestimating the true opportunity costs of informal care. We explore how intensive caregiving is associated with economic outcomes for caregivers aged 18 years and older. Methods We used the cross-sectional 2013 RAND Survey of Military and Veteran Caregivers, a survey of 3876 caregivers and non-caregivers aged 18 years and older to conduct multivariable analyses and calculate average marginal effects, focusing on the association between intensive caregiving (i.e., providing ≥ 20 h of weekly care) and six economic outcomes: schooling, labor force participation, taking unpaid time off of work, cutting back work hours, quitting a job, and early retirement. Results Intensive caregivers are 13 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI] 8–18) less likely to be employed than non-caregivers. Intensive caregivers are 3 percentage points (95% CI 0.5–5) more likely to cut back schooling, 6 percentage points (95% CI 2–10) more likely to take unpaid time off of work, 4 percentage points (95% CI 0.1–9) more likely to cut back work hours, 12 percentage points (95% CI 8–15) more likely to quit a job, and 5 percentage points (95% CI 2–7) more likely to retire early due to caregiving responsibilities relative to non-intensive caregivers. Conclusions Despite the difficulty of quantifying the true opportunity costs of informal care, policy makers and researchers need to understand these costs. The higher the opportunity costs of unpaid care provision, the less likely it is that caregivers will provide this care and the less economically attractive this ‘free’ source of care is from a societal perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Josephine C. Jacobs & Courtney H. Van Houtven & Terri Tanielian & Rajeev Ramchand, 2019. "Economic Spillover Effects of Intensive Unpaid Caregiving," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 553-562, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:pharme:v:37:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s40273-019-00784-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s40273-019-00784-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Berecki-Gisolf, Janneke & Lucke, Jayne & Hockey, Richard & Dobson, Annette, 2008. "Transitions into informal caregiving and out of paid employment of women in their 50s," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 122-127, July.
    2. Sean Fahle & Kathleen McGarry, 2017. "Caregiving and Work: The Relationship between Labor Market Attachment and Parental Caregiving," Working Papers wp356, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
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    Cited by:

    1. Huamin Chai & Rui Fu & Peter C. Coyte, 2021. "Does Unpaid Caregiving Erode Working Hours Among Middle-Aged Chinese Adults?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 977-999, October.
    2. Huamin Chai & Rui Fu & Peter C. Coyte, 2021. "Unpaid Caregiving and Labor Force Participation among Chinese Middle-Aged Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-25, January.
    3. Zhang, Wei & Sun, Huiying & L'Heureux, Jacynthe, 2021. "Substitutes or complements between informal and formal home care in the Canadian longitudinal study on aging: Functional impairment as an effect modifier," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(9), pages 1267-1275.
    4. David McDaid & A-La Park, 2022. "Understanding the Economic Value and Impacts on Informal Carers of People Living with Mental Health Conditions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-15, March.
    5. Xinyan Wei & Ying Liu & Yang Liu, 2023. "Study on the Impact of Internet Usage, Aging on Farm Household Income," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-16, September.
    6. Lisa A. Prosser & Eve Wittenberg, 2019. "Advances in Methods and Novel Applications for Measuring Family Spillover Effects of Illness," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 447-450, April.
    7. McDaid, David & Park, A-La, 2022. "Understanding the economic value and impacts on informal carers of people living with mental health conditions," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114272, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Luz María Peña-Longobardo & Isaac Aranda-Reneo & Juan Oliva-Moreno & Svenja Litzkendorf & Isabelle Durand-Zaleski & Eduardo Tizzano & Julio López-Bastida, 2020. "The Economic Impact and Health-Related Quality of Life of Spinal Muscular Atrophy. An Analysis across Europe," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-12, August.

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