The Chicken or the Egg? Endogeneity in Labour Market Participation of Informal Carers in England

Axel Heitmueller

No 1366, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Informal care is a vital pillar of the British welfare state. A well-known fact in the small economic literature on informal care is the apparent negative relation between care responsibilities and labour market participation. Yet, caring and labour market participation may be endogenous. Using an instrumental variable approach and data from the British Household Panel Study for 2002 this paper shows that not accommodating for endogeneity in the labour market participation equation may significantly underestimate the impact care exhibits on the employment decision of informal carers. This is the more the case the smaller the choice of becoming a carer. Policy implications are derived.

Keywords: labour market participation; endogeneity; informal care; instrumental variable approach (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C10 I11 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25 pages
Date: 2004-10
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Published - revised version published in: Journal of Health Economics, 2007, 26 (3), 536-559

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Journal Article: The chicken or the egg?: Endogeneity in labour market participation of informal carers in England (2007)
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