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Does It Matter Who Cares for You? The Effect of Substituting Informal with Formal Personal Care on the Care Recipients' Health

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Listed:
  • Hollingsworth, Bruce

    (Lancaster University)

  • Ohinata, Asako

    (University of Leicester)

  • Picchio, Matteo

    (Marche Polytechnic University)

  • Walker, Ian

    (Lancaster University)

Abstract

We show that a Scottish policy reform, which introduced free formal personal home care for those aged 65 and above, reduced the probability and the hours of receiving informal personal care. Moreover, we find that the group of individuals that most benefited from the policy introduction, i.e. women aged 75 and above, experienced the largest fall in informal care. We go on to investigate whether such reductions in informal and increases in formal personal care impacted on the care recipients' health outcomes. Our results demonstrate that switching from informal to formal care does very little to the recipients' hospital usage and health outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Hollingsworth, Bruce & Ohinata, Asako & Picchio, Matteo & Walker, Ian, 2022. "Does It Matter Who Cares for You? The Effect of Substituting Informal with Formal Personal Care on the Care Recipients' Health," IZA Discussion Papers 15457, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15457
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    long-term elderly care; ageing; financial support; difference-in-differences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination

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