Longer working lives and unpaid caregiving: costs, conflicts and tradeoffs in a comparative perspective

Funded by Forte (Dnr 2016-00218)
This project addresses questions concerning the future supply of unpaid care in the context of demographic ageing and potential conflict between extended working lives and health care policy. Population ageing places increased pressure on pensions creating an imperative to extend working lives, but it also leads to demands on health and caring services, particularly in-home care. This combination will likely fuel demand for formal and informal care implying that individuals, particularly women, are increasingly faced with dual responsibilities of paid work and unpaid caregiving. It is unclear whether the future supply of unpaid care will meet rising demand or how care needs will impact the labor supply of older adults. Thus we need to know more about what motivates and constrains people’s supply of care. The proposed project addresses this issue, adopting a comparative approach across four countries employing a life-cycle perspective towards the supply of paid labor and unpaid care. We will use national and international data and quantitative methods to investigate interlinkages and underlying relationships between unpaid care, employment and labor market exits; the financial and well-being impacts of changing work and care demands, the role of the family in care and the related policy frameworks in Europe and Canada, focusing on developments since 1990. The project is highly relevant from an economic and social perspective, contributing to a better understanding of the scope and impact of caregiving responsibilities on men’s and women’s daily life, the intervening mechanisms and the relationship between unpaid and paid work from a gender perspective. Results from this project can inform policy design to facilitate a better combination of market work and care responsibilities for everyone, which is essential for economies with ageing populations. The proposed project is highly relevant to Forte´s areas of working life, ageing, social welfare and gender equality.