Grandchild care and eldercare. A quid pro quo arrangement

Mathieu Lefebvre, Pierre Pestieau () and Jérôme Schoenmaeckers ()
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Pierre Pestieau: Université catholique de Louvain, LIDAM/CORE, Belgium
Jérôme Schoenmaeckers: Université de Liège

No 2024014, LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE from Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE)

Abstract: The phenomenon of grandparents assuming the role of caretakers for their grandchildren is both substantial and on the rise, a trend partially attributed to mothers’ increasing participation in the workforce. While altruism is commonly believed to be the primary driver behind such caregiving, we propose to examine an additional motivation: the expectation among grandparents that they will receive care from their offspring in the event of their own incapacity. This paper aims to investigate this hypothesis from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. Initially, we construct a theoretical framework, delineating a Subgame Perfect Nash Equilibrium, wherein the grandparent first commits to caring for the grandchild, followed by the anticipation of receiving care from their adult child in scenarios of disability. Subsequently, we empirically test the feasibility of this model by analyzing data sourced from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Our results confirm that elderly who took care of their grandchildren receive more support from their children in the case of a loss of autonomy.

Keywords: Long-term care; Intergenerational transfers; Informal care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 D64 J14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33
Date: 2024-05-30
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-gth and nep-hea
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Journal Article: Grandchild care and eldercare. A quid pro quo arrangement (2025)
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