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Delegating home care for the elderly to external caregivers? An empirical study on Italian data

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  • Matteo Lippi Bruni
  • Cristina Ugolini

Abstract

We study care arrangement decisions in Italy, where families are increasingly delegating the role of primary caregiver to external (paid) people also for the provision of home care. We consider a sample of households with a dependent elderly person cared for either at home or in a residential home, extracted from a survey representative of the population of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region. We investigate the determinants of a household’s decision to opt for one of the following three alternatives: the institutionalisation of elderly family members, informal home care, or paid home care. We estimate two model specifications, based on a simultaneous and a sequential decision process respectively, the results of which are fairly consistent. Disability related variables, rather than family characteristics, emerge as the main determinants of institutionalisation. On the other hand, household characteristics and socio-economic variables are more influential when it comes to choosing between informal and formal home care provisions. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

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  • Matteo Lippi Bruni & Cristina Ugolini, 2016. "Delegating home care for the elderly to external caregivers? An empirical study on Italian data," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 155-183, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:14:y:2016:i:1:p:155-183
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-014-9253-x
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    3. Matthias Firgo & Klaus Nowotny & Alexander Braun, 2017. "Austria 2025 – Informal, Formal, or Both? Assessing the Drivers of Home Care Utilisation in Austria Using a Simultaneous Decision Framework," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 59741, February.
    4. Maurizio Bussolo & Johannes Koettl & Emily Sinnott, 2015. "Golden Aging," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 22018, December.
    5. Ivo Bischoff & Nataliya Kusa, 2016. "Should there be a more active role of family care assistants in long-term care provision? – survey evidence on the view of German citizens," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201642, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Long-term care; Elderly living arrangements; Informal care; Household choice; Health economics; C21; D13; I18;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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