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Who Takes Care of Whom in the United States? Time Transfers by Age and Sex

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  • Denys Dukhovnov
  • Emilio Zagheni

Abstract

type="main"> Non-monetary transfers of time represent a largely unknown, yet pivotal component, of the support system in the United States. We map flows of time transfers, by age and sex, related to informal childcare and adult care in the US. We develop methods to estimate intra- and inter-household time transfers using data from the American Time Use Survey (2011–2013). We summarize the results in matrices of time flows by age and sex for the general US population, as well as for the “sandwich generation.” Most time transfers flow downwards from parents to young children, with relevant gender differences. The time produced by the sandwich generation is directed toward a more diverse population spectrum, including substantial intra-generational transfers to spouses. Extrapolations based on our findings reveal a projected rise in demand, relative to supply, of informal care, indicating that, to maintain current levels of care, US society will have to rely more heavily either on the market or on an increased effort of caregivers.

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  • Denys Dukhovnov & Emilio Zagheni, 2015. "Who Takes Care of Whom in the United States? Time Transfers by Age and Sex," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 41(2), pages 183-206, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:popdev:v:41:y:2015:i:2:p:183-206
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2015.00044.x
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    1. Denys Dukhovnov & Joan M. Ryan & Emilio Zagheni, 2022. "“The Impact of Demographic Change on Transfers of Care and Associated Well-being”," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(6), pages 2419-2446, December.
    2. Zohra Ansari-Thomas, 2024. "Sandwich Caregiving and Paid Work: Differences by Caregiving Intensity and Women’s Life Stage," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(1), pages 1-46, February.
    3. Diego Alburez‐Gutierrez & Carl Mason & Emilio Zagheni, 2021. "The “Sandwich Generation” Revisited: Global Demographic Drivers of Care Time Demands," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(4), pages 997-1023, December.
    4. Marco Albertini & Aviad Tur-Sinai & Noah Lewin-Epstein & Merril Silverstein, 2022. "The Older Sandwich Generation Across European Welfare Regimes: Demographic and Social Considerations," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(2), pages 273-300, May.
    5. Kashnitsky, Ilya & de Beer, Joop & van Wissen, Leo, 2017. "Decomposition of regional convergence in population aging across Europe," OSF Preprints ykqbv, Center for Open Science.
    6. Sylvie Arlotto & Stéphanie Gentile & Alice Blin & Anne-Claire Durand & Sylvie Bonin-Guillaume, 2022. "Caregiver Burden Is Reduced by Social Support Services for Non-Dependent Elderly Persons: Pre-Post Study of 569 Caregivers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-12, October.
    7. Elisenda Rentería & Rosario Scandurra & Guadalupe Souto & Concepció Patxot, 2016. "Intergenerational money and time transfers by gender in Spain: Who are the actual dependents?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 34(24), pages 689-704.
    8. Tha�s Garc�a Pereiro, 2018. "Helping while working? Women as providers of child and adult care in Italy," RIEDS - Rivista Italiana di Economia, Demografia e Statistica - The Italian Journal of Economic, Demographic and Statistical Studies, SIEDS Societa' Italiana di Economia Demografia e Statistica, vol. 72(4), pages 53-64, October-D.
    9. Chiara Mussida & Raffaella Patimo, 2021. "Women’s Family Care Responsibilities, Employment and Health: A Tale of Two Countries," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 489-507, September.
    10. Chiara Mussida & Raffaella Patimo, 2018. "Women’s care responsibilities, employment and health: a two countries’ tale," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali dises141, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    11. Denys Dukhovnov & Emilio Zagheni, 2019. "Transfers of informal care time in the United States: the role of demographic differentials in intergenerational flows by age, sex, and racial and national background," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 17(1), pages 163-197.

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