Caring for carers? The effect of public subsidies on the wellbeing of unpaid carers

Joan Costa-Font, Francesco D'Amico and Cristina Vilaplana-Prieto

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: We study the effect of long-term care subsidies and supports on the well-being of unpaid caregivers. We draw on evidence from a policy intervention, which universalized previously means-tested caregiving supports in Scotland, known as free personal care (FPC). We document causal evidence of an increase in the well-being (happiness) of unpaid carers after the introduction of FPC. Our estimates suggest economically relevant improvements in happiness (12 percentage point increase in subjective well-being) among caregivers exposed to FPC and who provide at least 35 hours of care per week. Consistently, these results are larger among women and non-actively employed caregivers (17 percentage point increase in happiness). Estimates are not driven by selection into caregiving; they are explained by income effects of FPC among caregivers.

Keywords: caregiving; long-term care subsidies; Scotland; caregiver’s well-being; subjective well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2023-10-23
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-hap, nep-hea and nep-ltv
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Published in American Journal of Health Economics, 23, October, 2023, 9(4), pp. 487 - 522. ISSN: 2332-3493

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:116940

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