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Is Childcare Bad for the Mental Health of Grandparents? Evidence from SHARE

Author

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  • Brunello, Giorgio

    (University of Padova)

  • Rocco, Lorenzo

    (University of Padova)

Abstract

We estimate the causal effects of regular and occasional grandchild care on the depression of grandmothers and grandfathers, using data from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and an instrumental variables strategy which exploits the variation in the timing of interviews across individuals and the fact that childcare declines with the age of grandchildren. We find that 10 additional hours of childcare per month, a 31 percent increase with respect to the sample average, increases the probability of developing depressive symptoms by 3.0 to 3.2 percentage points for grandmothers and by 5.4 to 5.9 percentage points for grandfathers. These results suggest that policies that substitute informal with formal childcare can improve the mental wellbeing of grandparents.

Suggested Citation

  • Brunello, Giorgio & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2016. "Is Childcare Bad for the Mental Health of Grandparents? Evidence from SHARE," IZA Discussion Papers 10022, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10022
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Sor Tho Ng & Nai Peng Tey & M Niaz Asadullah, 2017. "What matters for life satisfaction among the oldest-old? Evidence from China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(2), pages 1-16, February.
    2. 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.
    3. Danielsbacka, Mirkka & Tanskanen, Antti O. & Coall, David A. & Jokela, Markus, 2019. "Grandparental childcare, health and well-being in Europe: A within-individual investigation of longitudinal data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 194-203.
    4. Ates, Merih, 2017. "Does grandchild care influence grandparents’ self-rated health? Evidence from a fixed effects approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 67-74.

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    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior

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