Do Public Caregiving Subsidies and Supports affect the Provision of Care and Transfers?

Joan Costa-Font, Sergi Jimenez-Martin and Cristina Vilaplana-Prieto

Journal of Health Economics, 2022, vol. 84, issue C

Abstract: We study whether caregiving and intergenerational transfer decisions are sensitive to changes in economic incentives following the inception of a new unconditional and universal system of allowances and supports, after the introduction of the 2006 Promotion of Personal Autonomy and Care for Dependent Persons Act (SAAD in Spanish), and the ensuing effects of its austerity cuts after 2012. We find that whilst the introduction of a caregiving allowance (of a maximum value of €530 in 2011) increased the supply of informal caregiving by 20-22 percentual points (pp), the inception of a companion system of publicly subsidised homecare supports did not modify the supply of care. Consistent with an exchange motive for intergenerational transfers, we estimate an average 17 pp (8.2-8.7pp) increase (decrease) in downstream (upstream) transfers among those receiving caregiving allowances. Our estimates resulting from the reduction in the allowances and supports after the austerity cuts in 2012 are consistent with our main estimates, and suggest stronguer effects among lower-income families.

Keywords: Caregiving; Intergenerational transfers; Unconditional transfer; Long-term care; Family transfers; exchange motivation; Allowances; Spain; Exchange motives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D14 G22 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Do public caregiving subsidies and supports affect the provision of care and transfers? (2022)
Working Paper: Thinking of Incentivizing Care? The Effect of Demand Subsidies on Informal Caregiving and Intergenerational Transfers (2018)
Working Paper: Thinking of incentivizing care? The effect of demand subsidies on informal caregiving and intergenerational transfers (2017)
Working Paper: Thinking of incentivizing care? The effect of demand subsidies on informal caregiving and intergenerational transfers (2016)
Working Paper: Thinking of Incentivizing Care? The Effect of Demand Subsidies on Informal Caregiving and Intergenerational Transfers (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:84:y:2022:i:c:s0167629622000583

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2022.102639

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