Volume 31, Number 1 (Winter) 1996
Ettner, Susan L. 1996. "The Opportunity Costs of Elder Care." Journal of Human Resources 31(1):189-205.
This
study uses data from the 1987 National Survey of Families and Households to
estimate the impact of caring for disabled elderly parents on the work hours of
men and women. Instrumental variable techniques were used to correct for
possible endogeneity bias, Work hours were consistently reduced by caregiving,
although the effect was significant only for women providing care to parents
residing outside the household. The magnitude of the caregiving effect was
larger for women than for men and for coresidence than for non-coresidential
care.
The
author is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Care Policy,
Harvard Medical School. She thanks participants of the Pepper workshop on Aging
at the University of Michigan for many valuable comments. In particular, she is
grateful to Willard Manning, William Weissert, Vivian Hamilton and Timothy
Waidmann. The suggestions of Richard Burkhauser and two anonymous referees improved
the paper substantially. The usual disclaimer applies.
The data used in this article can be obtained beginning in August 1996 through July 1999 from the author: Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Parcel B, 1st floor, Boston, MA 02115.
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