IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/jgu/wpaper/2201.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Are Grandchildren Good for You? Well-Being and Health Effects of Becoming a Grandparent

Author

Listed:
  • Birgit Leimer

    (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz)

  • Reyn Joris van Ewijk

    (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz)

Abstract

Becoming a grandparent is one of the major life transitions experienced by older individuals. Using data from ten Western European countries, we show that grandparenthood on average leads to a reduction in well-being while hardly impacting physical, cognitive and mental health. Effects are heterogeneous, though. Reductions in well-being appear among those having less family contact and not providing child care. Those with the opposite profile – except grandmothers providing daily child care – experience some health improvements without reduced well-being. Well-being reductions are not driven by unwanted/unplanned children. Grandparenthood induces people to retire, but retirement seems no relevant channel for well-being and health effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Birgit Leimer & Reyn Joris van Ewijk, 2022. "Are Grandchildren Good for You? Well-Being and Health Effects of Becoming a Grandparent," Working Papers 2201, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
    • Handle: RePEc:jgu:wpaper:2201
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://download.uni-mainz.de/RePEc/pdf/Discussion_Paper_2201.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2022
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wolfgang Frimmel & Martin Halla & Bernhard Schmidpeter & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2022. "Grandmothers’ Labor Supply," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(5), pages 1645-1689.
    2. Lindsey A. Baker & Merril Silverstein, 2008. "Preventive Health Behaviors Among Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 63(5), pages 304-311.
    3. Eva Garcia-Moran & Zoe Kuehn, 2017. "With Strings Attached: Grandparent-Provided Child Care and Female Labor Market Outcomes," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 23, pages 80-98, January.
    4. van den Berg, Gerard J. & Lindeboom, Maarten & Portrait, France, 2011. "Conjugal bereavement effects on health and mortality at advanced ages," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 774-794, July.
    5. Bruno Arpino & Valeria Bordone & Nicoletta Balbo, 2018. "Grandparenting, education and subjective well-being of older Europeans," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 251-263, September.
    6. Roberta Rutigliano, 2020. "Counting on Potential Grandparents? Adult Children’s Entry Into Parenthood Across European Countries," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(4), pages 1393-1414, August.
    7. Yoshinori Nishimura & Masato Oikawa & Hiroyuki Motegi, 2018. "What Explains The Difference In The Effect Of Retirement On Health? Evidence From Global Aging Data," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 792-847, July.
    8. Rachel Margolis & Laura Wright, 2017. "Healthy Grandparenthood: How Long Is It, and How Has It Changed?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(6), pages 2073-2099, December.
    9. Bettina Siflinger, 2017. "The Effect of Widowhood on Mental Health ‐ an Analysis of Anticipation Patterns Surrounding the Death of a Spouse," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(12), pages 1505-1523, December.
    10. Komonpaisarn, Touchanun & Loichinger, Elke, 2019. "Providing regular care for grandchildren in Thailand: An analysis of the impact on grandparents’ health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 117-125.
    11. Rupert, Peter & Zanella, Giulio, 2018. "Grandchildren and their grandparents' labor supply," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 89-103.
    12. Christiansen, Solveig Glestad, 2014. "The association between grandparenthood and mortality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 89-96.
    13. Stephen Wu, 2003. "The Effects of Health Events on the Economic Status of Married Couples," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(1).
    14. R. Wiggins & G. Netuveli & M. Hyde & P. Higgs & D. Blane, 2008. "The Evaluation of a Self-enumerated Scale of Quality of Life (CASP-19) in the Context of Research on Ageing: A Combination of Exploratory and Confirmatory Approaches," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 89(1), pages 61-77, October.
    15. Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, 2021. "Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 254-277.
    16. Jens Ambrasat & Jürgen Schupp & Gert G. Wagner, 2011. "Comparing the Predictive Power of Subjective and Objective Health Indicators: Changes in Hand Grip Strength and Overall Satisfaction with Life as Predictors of Mortality," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 398, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    17. Giorgio Di Gessa & Valeria Bordone & Bruno Arpino & J Jill Suitor, 2020. "Becoming a Grandparent and Its Effect on Well-Being: The Role of Order of Transitions, Time, and Gender," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 75(10), pages 2250-2262.
    18. Giorgio Brunello & Lorenzo Rocco, 2019. "Grandparents in the blues. The effect of childcare on grandparents’ depression," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 587-613, June.
    19. Li-Jung Ku & Sally Stearns & Courtney Houtven & George Holmes, 2012. "The health effects of caregiving by grandparents in Taiwan: an instrumental variable estimation," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 521-540, December.
    20. Fabrizio Mazzonna & Franco Peracchi, 2017. "Unhealthy Retirement?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(1), pages 128-151.
    21. Emanuela Cardia & Serena Ng, 2003. "Intergenerational Time Transfers and Childcare," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 6(2), pages 431-454, April.
    22. Backhaus, Andreas & Barslund, Mikkel, 2021. "The effect of grandchildren on grandparental labor supply: Evidence from Europe," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    23. Petter Lundborg & Erik Plug & Astrid Würtz Rasmussen, 2017. "Can Women Have Children and a Career? IV Evidence from IVF Treatments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(6), pages 1611-1637, June.
    24. Angrist, Joshua D & Evans, William N, 1998. "Children and Their Parents' Labor Supply: Evidence from Exogenous Variation in Family Size," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 450-477, June.
    25. Ralitza Dimova & François-Charles Wolff, 2011. "Do downward private transfers enhance maternal labor supply? Evidence from around Europe," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(3), pages 911-933, July.
    26. Stavros Petrou & Emil Kupek, 2008. "Social capital and its relationship with measures of health status: evidence from the Health Survey for England 2003," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(1), pages 127-143, January.
    27. Havnes, Tarjei & Mogstad, Magne, 2011. "Money for nothing? Universal child care and maternal employment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(11), pages 1455-1465.
    28. Xu, Hongwei, 2019. "Physical and mental health of Chinese grandparents caring for grandchildren and great-grandparents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 106-116.
    29. Giorgio Di Gessa & Karen Glaser & Anthea Tinker, 2016. "The Health Impact of Intensive and Nonintensive Grandchild Care in Europe: New Evidence From SHARE," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 71(5), pages 867-879.
    30. Bruno Arpino & Valeria Bordone, 2017. "Regular provision of grandchild care and participation in social activities," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 135-174, March.
    31. Powdthavee, Nattavudh, 2011. "Life Satisfaction and Grandparenthood: Evidence from a Nationwide Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 5869, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    32. Zhang, Yiyun & Luh, Yir-Hueih, 2018. "Grandparents' health and family fertility choice: Evidence from Taiwan," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 294-308.
    33. Ainhoa Aparicio-Fenoll & Marian Vidal-Fernandez, 2015. "Working Women and Fertility: the Role of Grandmothers’ Labor Force Participation," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo, vol. 61(1), pages 123-147.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Eiji Yamamura, 2021. "View about consumption tax and grandchildren," Papers 2102.04658, arXiv.org.
    2. Gema Zamarro, 2020. "Family labor participation and child care decisions: the role of grannies," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 287-312, September.
    3. Eiji Yamamura & Giorgio Brunello, 2023. "Effect of grandchildren on the happiness of grandparents: Does the grandparent's child's gender matter?," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 37(2), pages 149-163, June.
    4. Rupert, Peter & Zanella, Giulio, 2018. "Grandchildren and their grandparents' labor supply," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 89-103.
    5. Giorgio Brunello & Lorenzo Rocco, 2019. "Grandparents in the blues. The effect of childcare on grandparents’ depression," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 587-613, June.
    6. Wang, Sophie Xuefei & Bansak, Cynthia, 2022. "Are Grandparents a Good Substitute for Parents as the Primary Caregiver? The Impact of Grandparents on Children's Academic Performance," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1100, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    7. Ainoa Aparicio Fenoll, 2020. "The uneven impact of women's retirement on their daughters' employment," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 795-821, September.
    8. Meng, Lingsheng & Zhang, Yunbin & Zou, Ben, 2023. "The motherhood penalty in China: Magnitudes, trends, and the role of grandparenting," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 105-132.
    9. Julius Ilciukas, 2022. "Fertility and Parental Retirement," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-021/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    10. Mirkka Danielsbacka & Lenka Křenková & Antti O. Tanskanen, 2022. "Grandparenting, health, and well-being: a systematic literature review," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 341-368, September.
    11. Garrett Anstreicher & Joanna Venator, 2022. "To Grandmother’s House We Go: Childcare Time Transfers and Female Labor Mobility," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 1051, Boston College Department of Economics.
    12. Daniela Boca & Daniela Piazzalunga & Chiara Pronzato, 2018. "The role of grandparenting in early childcare and child outcomes," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 477-512, June.
    13. Leimer, Birgit & van Ewijk, Reyn, 2022. "No “honeymoon phase”: whose health benefits from retirement and when," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    14. Edoardo Frattola, 2023. "Parental retirement and fertility decisions across family policy regimes," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1417, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    15. Wolfgang Frimmel & Martin Halla & Bernhard Schmidpeter & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2022. "Grandmothers’ Labor Supply," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(5), pages 1645-1689.
    16. Wang, Shuhong & Li, Shengxiao (Alex) & Hu, Wanyang, 2022. "Grandparenting and subjective well-being in China: The moderating effects of residential location, gender, age, and income," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    17. Peter Eibich & Xianhua Zai, 2022. "Are the grandparents alright? The health consequences of grandparental childcare provision," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-023, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    18. Lin, Mengyun & Wang, Qing, 2019. "Center-based childcare expansion and grandparents' employment and well-being," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    19. Hongwei Xu, 2022. "Grandparenting and Cognitive Functioning in China," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(1), pages 285-316, February.
    20. Huamin Chai & Rui Fu & Peter C. Coyte, 2021. "Does Unpaid Caregiving Erode Working Hours Among Middle-Aged Chinese Adults?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 977-999, October.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:jgu:wpaper:2201. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Research Unit IPP (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vlmaide.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.