The Impact of Elder Care on Women's Labor Supply

Abstract

Adult daughters traditionally have served as primary caregivers for frail unmarried adults, but the levels of care they have provided in the past may interfere with their growing work responsibilities. This paper examines the impact of time transfers to elderly parents on labor supply at midlife. Using a sample of women ages 55 to 67 in the Health and Retirement Study, we estimate panel data models of annual hours of paid work controlling for the endogeneity of time assistance to parents. The results indicate that time help to parents strongly reduces female labor supply at midlife.

Handing Off Critically Ill Patients to Family Caregivers

“…3, JUNE 2009 www.ccnonline.org or eliminates access to employer-sponsored retirement accounts, limits contributions to participatory pension plans, and limits or eliminates saving for emergencies or other retirement needs. 26 …”

“…For middle-aged women, caregiving reduces paid work hours by abut 41%. 26 Reduced Benefits. Fifteen percent of family caregivers quit their jobs or reduced the number of their work hours because of the need to provide care, thereby also reducing their salary and paid benefits, including retirement and health insurance.…”

Inter-generational co-residence and women's work and leisure time in Egypt

“…There are few variables that predict household structure but have no direct effect on labor supply. Past scholars have asserted that the adult's number of siblings might predict co-residence with a disabled senior parent or in-law but could be excluded from directly predicting her labor supply (Johnson and Lo Sasso 2006). Similarly, the adult's number of own children has been held to predict labor supply, but not co-residence with a disabled senior (Johnson and Lo Sasso 2006).…”

“…Past scholars have asserted that the adult's number of siblings might predict co-residence with a disabled senior parent or in-law but could be excluded from directly predicting her labor supply (Johnson and Lo Sasso 2006). Similarly, the adult's number of own children has been held to predict labor supply, but not co-residence with a disabled senior (Johnson and Lo Sasso 2006). We explored these options, but found that, based on the F-test, neither the birth order of the husband nor husband's number of siblings was a strong enough predictor of mother-in-law co-residence to serve as an instrument.…”

“…There is an extensive and mixed literature on tradeoffs between caring for seniors and female labor force participation, some finding evidence of a tradeoff, and others finding that caring for an aging parent does not reduce the amount of time women spend in the labor force, since co-residing parents can provide care for young children, freeing up time for formal work (Johnson and Lo Sasso 2006;Latif 2006;Maurer-Fazio et al 2011;Sasaki 2002;Wakabayashi and Donato 2005;Wolf and Soldo 1994). Qualitative research in Egypt has suggested that with rising levels of female employment, there is increasing tension between women's labor force participation and their ability to care for aging in-laws (Sinunu, Yount, and El Afify 2008).…”