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Caring for Carers? The Effect of Public Subsidies on the Wellbeing of Unpaid Carers

Author

Listed:
  • Joan Costa-i-Font
  • Francesco D'Amico
  • Cristina Vilaplana-Prieto

Abstract

We study the effect of long-term care (LTC) subsidies and supports on the wellbeing of unpaid caregivers. We draw on evidence from a policy intervention, that universalized previously means-tested caregiving supports in Scotland, known as free personal care (FPC). We document causal evidence of an increase in the well-being (happiness) of unpaid carers after the introduction of FPC. Our estimates suggest economically relevant improvements in the happiness (12pp increase in subjective wellbeing) among caregivers exposed to FPC and that provide at least 35 hours of care per week. Consistently, these results are larger among women and non-actively employed caregivers (17pp increase in happiness). Estimates are not driven by selection into caregiving (we find similar wellbeing effects among caregivers at baseline and caregivers throughout the sample), and are driven by income effects of FPC among caregivers.

Suggested Citation

  • Joan Costa-i-Font & Francesco D'Amico & Cristina Vilaplana-Prieto, 2022. "Caring for Carers? The Effect of Public Subsidies on the Wellbeing of Unpaid Carers," CESifo Working Paper Series 9802, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9802
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    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp9802.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Sinha, Aashima & Kumar Sedai, Ashish & Bahadur Rahut, Dil & Sonobe, Tetsushi, 2024. "Well-being costs of unpaid care: Gendered evidence from a contextualized time-use survey in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    2. Joan Costa-Font & Sergi Jiménez & Cristina Vilaplana Prieto & Analía Viola, 2022. "Long-term Care in Spain," Studies on the Spanish Economy eee2022-23, FEDEA.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    caregiving; long-term care subsidies; subjective wellbeing; caregiver’s wellbeing; Scotland;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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