IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/hlthec/v34y2025i4p699-713.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic Value of Informal Care: Contingent Valuation From the Perspective of Caregivers and Care Recipients in China

Author

Listed:
  • Hongli Fan
  • Jinyan Gao
  • Lu Chen
  • Zixuan Peng
  • Peter C. Coyte

Abstract

We estimated the monetary value of informal care from the perspectives of informal caregivers and care recipients in China using the contingent valuation method. Data were obtained from a specially designed survey of 1458 informal caregivers and 972 care recipients. The mean for caregivers' willingness to pay (WTP) for reducing informal care by 1 h per week was CNY32.37 (€4.11), while the mean for willingness to accept (WTA) increasing informal care by 1 h was CNY46.21 (€5.87). The mean for care recipients' WTP (WTA) values for increasing or reducing informal care by 1 h per week were CNY28.74 (€3.65) and CNY44.78 (€5.69), respectively. The WTP and WTA values varied according to care hours and tasks, kinship, and living arrangements, and correlated with the characteristics of both caregivers and care recipients. The WTP and WTA values were also sensitive to a broad range of factors such as health, level of education, employment status, and household income. We highlight the contribution made by informal caregivers to elderly care and recommend the promotion of informal care activities to support and incentivize them.

Suggested Citation

  • Hongli Fan & Jinyan Gao & Lu Chen & Zixuan Peng & Peter C. Coyte, 2025. "Economic Value of Informal Care: Contingent Valuation From the Perspective of Caregivers and Care Recipients in China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 699-713, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:34:y:2025:i:4:p:699-713
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.4927
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4927
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/hec.4927?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. McDaid, David & Park, A-La, 2022. "Understanding the economic value and impacts on informal carers of people living with mental health conditions," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114272, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Brousselle, Astrid & Lessard, Chantale, 2011. "Economic evaluation to inform health care decision-making: Promise, pitfalls and a proposal for an alternative path," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(6), pages 832-839, March.
    3. Bernard van den Berg & Pol Spauwen, 2006. "Measurement of informal care: an empirical study into the valid measurement of time spent on informal caregiving," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(5), pages 447-460, May.
    4. van den Berg, Bernard & Brouwer, Werner & van Exel, Job & Koopmanschap, Marc & van den Bos, Geertrudis A.M. & Rutten, Frans, 2006. "Economic valuation of informal care: Lessons from the application of the opportunity costs and proxy good methods," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 835-845, February.
    5. Chen, Lu & Fan, Hongli & Chu, Lanlan, 2019. "The hidden cost of informal care: An empirical study on female caregivers' subjective well-being," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 85-93.
    6. Bernard van den Berg & Ada Ferrer‐i‐Carbonell, 2007. "Monetary valuation of informal care: the well‐being valuation method," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(11), pages 1227-1244, November.
    7. Francesca Bettio & Janneke Plantenga, 2004. "Comparing Care Regimes In Europe," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 85-113.
    8. David McDaid & A-La Park, 2022. "Understanding the Economic Value and Impacts on Informal Carers of People Living with Mental Health Conditions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-15, March.
    9. Juan Oliva-Moreno & Luz María Peña-Longobardo & Leticia García-Mochón & María del Río Lozano & Isabel Mosquera Metcalfe & María del Mar García-Calvente, 2019. "The economic value of time of informal care and its determinants (The CUIDARSE Study)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(5), pages 1-15, May.
    10. Bernard van denBerg & Werner Brouwer & Job van Exel & Marc Koopmanschap, 2005. "Economic valuation of informal care: the contingent valuation method applied to informal caregiving," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(2), pages 169-183, February.
    11. Chloé Gervès-Pinquié & Martine Bellanger & Joël Ankri, 2013. "Economic Analysis of the Intangible Impacts of Informal Care for People with Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Mental Disorders," Post-Print hal-03150411, HAL.
    12. van den Berg, Bernard & Al, Maiwenn & Brouwer, Werner & van Exel, Job & Koopmanschap, Marc, 2005. "Economic valuation of informal care: The conjoint measurement method applied to informal caregiving," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(6), pages 1342-1355, September.
    13. Chloé Gervès-Pinquié & Martine Bellanger & Joel Ankri, 2014. "Willingness to pay for informal care in France: the value of funding support interventions for caregivers," Post-Print hal-03150421, HAL.
    14. Kaschowitz, Judith & Brandt, Martina, 2017. "Health effects of informal caregiving across Europe: A longitudinal approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 72-80.
    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. Juan Oliva-Moreno & Marta Trapero-Bertran & Luz Maria Peña-Longobardo & Raúl del Pozo-Rubio, 2017. "The Valuation of Informal Care in Cost-of-Illness Studies: A Systematic Review," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 35(3), pages 331-345, March.
    2. Rapp, Thomas & Grand, Alain & Cantet, Christelle & Andrieu, Sandrine & Coley, Nicola & Portet, Florence & Vellas, Bruno, 2011. "Public financial support receipt and non-medical resource utilization in Alzheimer's disease results from the PLASA study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(8), pages 1310-1316, April.
    3. Riewpaiboon, Arthorn & Riewpaiboon, Wachara & Ponsoongnern, Kanyarat & Van den Berg, Bernard, 2009. "Economic valuation of informal care in Asia: A case study of care for disabled stroke survivors in Thailand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 648-653, August.
    4. Scott D. Grosse & Jamison Pike & Rieza Soelaeman & J. Mick Tilford, 2019. "Quantifying Family Spillover Effects in Economic Evaluations: Measurement and Valuation of Informal Care Time," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 461-473, April.
    5. Raúl Del Pozo-Rubio & Pablo Moya-Martínez & Marta Ortega-Ortega & Juan Oliva-Moreno, 2020. "Shadow and extended shadow cost sharing associated to informal long-term care: the case of Spain," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    6. Diana Albrecht & Tanja Wollensak & Christian Ernst & Clemens Becker & Martin Hautzinger & Klaus Pfeiffer, 2016. "Costs of informal care in a sample of German geriatric stroke survivors," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 49-61, March.
    7. van den Berg, Bernard & Fiebig, Denzil G. & Hall, Jane, 2014. "Well-being losses due to care-giving," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 123-131.
    8. Bernard van den Berg & Ada Ferrer‐i‐Carbonell, 2007. "Monetary valuation of informal care: the well‐being valuation method," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(11), pages 1227-1244, November.
    9. Joan Costa‐Font & Cristina Vilaplana‐Prieto, 2025. "The Hidden Value of Adult Informal Care in Europe," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 791-812, April.
    10. Marie Blaise & Laetitia Dillenseger, 2023. "Informal Caregivers and Life Satisfaction: Empirical Evidence from the Netherlands," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 1883-1930, August.
    11. Bernard van den Berg & Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell, 2007. "Monetary valuation of informal care: the well-being valuation method," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(11), pages 1227-1244.
    12. Jane Hall & Patricia Kenny & Ishrat Hossain, 2007. "The provision of informal care in terminal illness: An analysis of carers? needs using a discrete choice experiment," Working Papers 2007/12, CHERE, University of Technology, Sydney.
    13. Renske Hoefman & Job Exel & Werner Brouwer, 2013. "How to Include Informal Care in Economic Evaluations," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 31(12), pages 1105-1119, December.
    14. Anezaki, Hisataka & Hashimoto, Hideki, 2018. "Time cost of child rearing and its effect on women's uptake of free health checkups in Japan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 1-7.
    15. Renske J. Hoefman & Job van Exel & John M. Rose & E. J. van de Wetering & Werner B. F. Brouwer, 2014. "A Discrete Choice Experiment to Obtain a Tariff for Valuing Informal Care Situations Measured with the CarerQol Instrument," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 34(1), pages 84-96, January.
    16. Emmanouil Mentzakis & Mandy Ryan & Paul McNamee, 2014. "Modelling Heterogeneity and Uncertainty in Contingent Valuation: an Application to the Valuation of Informal Care," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 61(1), pages 1-25, February.
    17. Bauer, Jan Michael & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso, 2015. "Impacts of Informal Caregiving on Caregiver Employment, Health, and Family," IZA Discussion Papers 8851, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Claudine de Meijer & Werner Brouwer & Marc Koopmanschap & Bernard van den Berg & Job van Exel, 2010. "The value of informal care–a further investigation of the feasibility of contingent valuation in informal caregivers," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(7), pages 755-771, July.
    19. Joanna Coast & Hareth Al‐Janabi & Eileen J. Sutton & Susan A. Horrocks & A. Jane Vosper & Dawn R. Swancutt & Terry N. Flynn, 2012. "Using qualitative methods for attribute development for discrete choice experiments: issues and recommendations," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(6), pages 730-741, June.
    20. Hareth Al-Janabi & Terry N. Flynn & Joanna Coast, 2011. "Estimation of a Preference-Based Carer Experience Scale," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 31(3), pages 458-468, May.

    More about this item

    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:wly:hlthec:v:34:y:2025:i:4:p:699-713. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/5749 .

    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.