Estimating Total Informal Care Costs in Spain. Can Formal Care Reduce it?

Abstract

This paper estimates the cost of informal care in Spain analyzing their evolution in the last decade. Furthermore, the linkage between informal and formal care, with which it could be replaced, is determined. We find that in Spain 3.8 million people are dependent, approximately 40 % receive informal care and more than 10 % make use of some formal services. Estimation results indicate that the annual costs of informal care are between €22 and 33 thousand million representing approximately 8 % of the Spanish GDP. Furthermore, this study sheds light on the fact that the use of appropriate formal services can reduce the need of informal care to 60 %. However, the main problem is formal services heterogeneity of each Spanish region. Therefore, more studies are needed to assess the Spanish portfolio of formal services and find which are appropriates for each individual so that costs be reduced.