Abstract
The importance of informal care provided inside the household (co-residential care) is widely acknowledged in policy circles. However, the factors that determine the likelihood and scale of provision are not fully understood. A two-part model (2PM) is used to investigate both participation and levels of provision. Random effects dynamic panel specifications are employed. Results show that co-residential informal care competes with other time demanding activities, such as childcare and employment. Wealthier individuals are less likely to be caregivers, whereas wealthier households have a higher tendency towards care-giving. Evidence of both substitution and complementarity is found between formal and informal care. Informal care and health status are significantly related, with carers more likely to report worse General Health Questionnaire scores than non-carers. Finally, significant dynamic effects are observed with the continuance of the provision of informal care being more likely than the initiation of such activity, while heavy commitment in the past increases the hours provided in the current period.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 283-303 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Review of Economics of the Household |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 17 Dec 2008 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Sept 2009 |
Bibliographical note
Acknowledgments:We would like to thank two anonymous reviewers and Michael Grossman for their valuable comments and suggestions. This work was carried out whilst Emmanouil Mentzakis was a PhD student at the University of Aberdeen, funded by an MRC capacity building studentship. Mandy Ryan and Paul McNamee are funded by the University of Aberdeen. Financial support from the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorate is also acknowledged. Data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) were supplied by the ESRC Data Archive. The usual disclaimer applies.
Erratum: Who cares and how much: Exploring the determinants of co-residential informal care (Review of Economics Household (2009) 10.1007/s11150-008-9047-0))
Emmanouil Mentzakis, Paul McNamee, Mandy Ryan, 2009, vol. 7, issue 3, p. 305. Review of Economics of the Household http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11150-009-9050-0
Keywords
- informal care provision
- dynamic two-part panel model
- panel-data models
- secondary caregivers
- opportunity costs
- sample selection
- elderly patients
- health-care
- home-care
- allocation
- labor
- time