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On the consumption insurance effects of long-term care insurance in Japan: Evidence from micro-level household data

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  • Iwamoto, Yasushi
  • Kohara, Miki
  • Saito, Makoto

Abstract

Using micro-level household data in the 2001 Comprehensive Survey of the Living Conditions of the People on Health and Welfare compiled by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, this paper examines how having a household member in need of long-term nursing care can result in welfare losses measured in terms of consumption. In so doing, this study evaluates the role of the public long-term care insurance scheme implemented in Japan in April 2000. The results indicate that when households include a disabled family member, household consumption net of long-term care costs do not decrease as much as before the introduction of long-term care insurance. Further, when compared with the surveys conducted in 1998, the adverse effects on consumption net of long-term care costs have become much weaker. These findings suggest that the introduction of social insurance in 2000 helped Japanese households to reduce the welfare losses associated with a disabled family member.

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  • Iwamoto, Yasushi & Kohara, Miki & Saito, Makoto, 2010. "On the consumption insurance effects of long-term care insurance in Japan: Evidence from micro-level household data," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 99-115, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jjieco:v:24:y:2010:i:1:p:99-115
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    Cited by:

    1. Go Kotera & Saisuke Sakai, 2017. "Complementarity between Merit Goods and Private Consumption: Evidence from estimated DSGE model for Japan," KIER Working Papers 978, Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research.
    2. Kim, Hoolda & Mitra, Sophie, 2022. "The Economic and Health Effects of Long-Term Care Insurance: New Evidence from Korea," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    3. Ryotaro Fukahori & Tadashi Sakai & Kazuma Sato, 2015. "The Effects of Incidence of Care Needs in Households on Employment, Subjective Health, and Life Satisfaction among Middle-aged Family Members," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 62(5), pages 518-545, November.
    4. Tomoaki Yamada & Minchung Hsu & Gary D. Hansen, 2011. "Financing Health Care in Japan: The Impact of an Aging Population," 2011 Meeting Papers 717, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    5. Sugawara, Shinya & Nakamura, Jiro, 2014. "Can formal elderly care stimulate female labor supply? The Japanese experience," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 98-115.
    6. Shinya Sugawara & Jiro Nakamura, 2013. "Is Elderly Care Socialized in Japan? Analyzing the Effects of the 2006 Amendment to the LTCI on the Female Labor Supply," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-888, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    7. Hoolda Kim & Sophie Mitra, 2023. "The Economic and Health Effects of Long-term Care Insurance: New Evidence from Korea," Fordham Economics Discussion Paper Series dp2023-02er:dp2023-02, Fordham University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social insurance Consumption insurance Long-term care insurance;

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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