No abstract

Most European countries are facing an ageing population, which points to a need for having as many people as possible of employable age working full time. The growing number of older people increases the pressure on health and care services as well as on family caregivers. Adult children are important care-providers in their parents' final years. This study investigates how having a parent in need of care affects sons' and daughters' labour market participation. The question is investigated by analysing longitudinal data from the Norwegian life course, ageing and generation study. The empirical strategy is first to use register information about parents' demise as an indicator for amplified care needs in the period prior to their death and explore patterns in labour market participation (employment and earnings) before and after the death of a parent. Then, register data are combined with survey data in order to separate caregivers from non-caregivers prior to the loss of a parent. The analyses show a negative employment trend in the years before and after the loss of a lone parent. They also show a different development in earnings between caregivers and non-caregivers. Caregivers have a weaker development in earnings both before and after the death of their parent compared to non-caregivers. The study concludes that caring for older parents has a negative impact on the children's labour market participation in both the period with substantial caregiving needs and the period following the parents' demise.

A key issue in policy debates on active ageing is how to increase older people’s participation in both paid and unpaid work. This combined goal raises the question of whether the different activities compete for seniors’ time and energy or whether it is possible to achieve both, since such activities may instead complement one another. To address this issue, we examine associations between paid work, informal help provision and formal volunteering among 62- to 75-year-olds by using longitudinal data from the Norwegian Life Course, Ageing and Generation Study (2007, 2017). Our analyses show that both work exit and part-time work are associated with a higher probability of doing unpaid work in senior years compared with full-time work. However, previous engagement in unpaid activities matters considerably, regardless of paid work status. Individuals involved in informal help or formal voluntary work in 2007 were far more likely to do unpaid work 10 years later than those who were not involved. Since seniors who are already engaged in unpaid activities before leaving the labour market are likely to continue to provide informal help and volunteer, we argue that initiatives to stimulate combinations of paid and unpaid work in late careers may be advantageous.

How to meet the demands of long-term care is a pressing issue in ageing societies. In most countries, care systems depend on the capability and willingness of family members to fill the gap between existing needs and formal service provision. Understanding the motivations of adult children to engage in parent care is, therefore, of central importance. The existing research literature offers different explanations, and here we concentrate on two key perspectives: normative and affectual commitments. Based on longitudinal data from two waves of the Norwegian Life Course, Ageing and Generation Study (2007 and 2017), we investigate to what extent adult children's previous attitudes towards filial responsibility norms and their perceived quality of the relationship to parents (in 2007) are associated with subsequent care-giving to ageing mothers and fathers (in 2017). The analyses show no evidence of a correlation between support of general filial responsibility norms and provision of help and care 10 years later. Perceived quality of the relationship, on the other hand, is associated with subsequent help and care-giving. The patterns are similar for daughters and sons. We conclude that within the context of a comprehensive welfare state, like the Norwegian, care-giving seems to be more of an individual choice than a societal prescription.