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Work and Well-Being of Informal Caregivers in Europe

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  • Heger, Dörte

Abstract

Informal caregivers provide valuable services to elderly persons with long-term care needs, but the consequences of caregiving on caregivers are not yet fully understood. This paper illustrates the interrelation between caregiving and caregivers' labour force participation, cognitive ability, and health in a simple theoretical model, and estimates the effects of caregiving using panel data from 13 European countries, which allows to analyze the effect of institutions on caregivers' outcomes. The results show that caregiving severely and signicantly reduces caregivers' probability of being employed, but only in countries with few formal care alternatives. Furthermore, caregivers in all countries suffer from worse mental health when caregiving is prompted by poor parental health. The results for the effects of caregiving on physical health and cognitive ability are mixed.

Suggested Citation

  • Heger, Dörte, 2014. "Work and Well-Being of Informal Caregivers in Europe," Ruhr Economic Papers 512, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:512
    DOI: 10.4419/86788587
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    Cited by:

    1. repec:diw:diwwpp:dp1520 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Heger, Dörte & Korfhage, Thorben, 2017. "Does the negative effect of caregiving on work persist over time?," Ruhr Economic Papers 703, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    3. Rellstab, Sara & Bakx, Pieter & García-Gómez, Pilar & van Doorslaer, Eddy, 2020. "The kids are alright - labour market effects of unexpected parental hospitalisations in the Netherlands," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    4. Victoria Levin & Ana Maria Munoz Boudet & Beth Zikronah Rosen & Tami Aritomi & Julianna Flanagan & Lourdes Rodriguez-Chamussy, 2015. "Why Should We Care about Care?," World Bank Publications - Reports 29546, The World Bank Group.
    5. Geyer, Johannes & Korfhage, Thorben, 2015. "Long-term care reform and the labor supply of household members: Evidence from a quasi-experiment," Ruhr Economic Papers 574, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    6. Johannes Geyer & Thorben Korfhage, 2015. "Long‐term Care Insurance and Carers' Labor Supply – A Structural Model," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(9), pages 1178-1191, September.
    7. Johannes Geyer & Peter Haan & Thorben Korfhage, 2015. "Indirect Fiscal Effects of Long-Term Care Insurance," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1520, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    8. Schmitz, Hendrik & Westphal, Matthias, 2017. "Informal care and long-term labor market outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1-18.
    9. Russell, Helen & Grotti, Raffaele & McGinnity, Fran & Privalko, Ivan, 2019. "Caring and unpaid work in Ireland," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number BKMNEXT382.
    10. Geyer, J.; Korfhage, T.;, 2017. "Long-term care reform and the labor supply of informal caregivers – evidence from a quasi-experiment," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 17/20, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    11. Jeon, Sung-Hee & Pohl, R. Vincent, 2017. "Health and work in the family: Evidence from spouses’ cancer diagnoses," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1-18.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    informal care; labour supply; cognitive ability; physical and mental health;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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