Costa-Font, Joan 
ORCID: 0000-0001-7174-7919, Jiménez-Martínez, Sergi and Vilaplana-Prieto, Cristina
(2016)
Thinking of incentivizing care? The effect of demand subsidies on informal caregiving and intergenerational transfers.
Barcelona GSE Working Paper (929).
Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract
We still know little about what motivates the informal care arrangements provided in old age. The introduction of demand-side subsidies such as unconditional caregiving allowances (cash benefits designed either to incentivize the provision of informal care, or compensate for the loss of employment of informal caregivers) provide us with an opportunity to gain a further understanding of the matter. In this paper we exploit a quasi-natural experiment to identify the effects of the inception in 2007 (and its reduction in 2012) of a universal caregiving allowance on both the supply of informal care, and subsequent intergenerational transfer flows. We find evidence of a 30% rise in informal caregiving after the subsidy, and an increase (reduction) in downstream (upstream) intergenerational transfers of 29% (and 15%). Estimates were heterogeneous by income and wealth quantiles. Consistently, the effects were attenuated by a subsequent policy intervention; the reduction of the subsidy amidst austerity cuts in 2012.
| Item Type: | Monograph (Working Paper) |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://www.barcelonagse.eu/ |
| Additional Information: | © 2016 The Authors |
| Divisions: | LSE |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine |
| JEL classification: | D - Microeconomics > D1 - Household Behavior and Family Economics > D14 - Personal Finance G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G22 - Insurance; Insurance Companies I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I18 - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Oct 2016 13:06 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Sep 2023 23:40 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/67984 |
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