Availability of Long-term Care Facilities and Middle-aged People's Labor Supply in Japan

Abstract

This paper estimates the effect of the availability of long-term care facilities in the prefecture or medical district where middle-aged men and women reside on their labor supply. Prefecture- and medical district- level panel datasets of the capacity of long-term care facilities are merged with individual level employment data, and each individual's employment status is regressed on the capacities of long-term care facilities. I find no evidence for a positive impact of the long-term care availability on labor supply, although the estimates are unstable in sign and not estimated precisely enough to draw any strong conclusions.