The changing relationship between formal and informal care work

Birgit Pfau-Effinger and Hildegard Theobald

Chapter 16 in Research Handbook on Social Care Policy, 2025, pp 250-261 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In the theoretical debate about care work, it is common to distinguish between formal, paid care work in the employment system and informal, unpaid care work in the family. There is a tendency to treat formal care work as ‘modern’ and ‘woman-friendly’, for it relieves women from care work at home, while informal care work is often associated with backwardness and the social marginalization of women in the labour market. We argue that informal care work within the family itself has in part changed on the basis of a ‘semi-formalization’ of family care. The chapter aims to analyze general trends and dynamics in the development of formal, semi-formal and informal care work in Europe. It also discusses the role of culture and welfare state institutions for the explanation of these changes. The empirical analyses are based on international statistics, findings from EU funded projects and secondary analysis of empirical studies.

Keywords: Care workers; Long-term care; Care labour shortage; Personal carers; Care regimes; Social care services (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781839103681
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