Informal Care and Labor Supply

Published in

IZA Discussion Paper No. 3717, 2008, and HERO Working Paper No. 8, 2008, Health Economics Research Programme, University of Oslo

Abstract

Based on Norwegian register data we show that having a lone parent in the terminal phase of life significantly affects the offspring’s labor market activity. The employment propensity declines by around 1 percentage point among sons and 2 percentage points among daughters during the years just prior to the parent’s death, ceteris paribus. Long-term sickness absence increases sharply. The probability of being a long-term social security claimant (defined as being a claimant for at least three months during a year) rises with as much as 4 percentage points for sons and 2 percentage points for daughters. After the parent’s demise, earnings tend to rise for those still in employment while the employment propensity continues to decline. The higher rate of social security dependency persists for several years.

Full text (link)

By Snorre Kverndokk and Knut Røed, Elisabeth Fevang
Published Mar. 23, 2015 11:20 AM