Abstract

In an international comparison, the Nordic countries are generous care spenders and a relatively large proportion of the populations receive formal care services. However, in respect of service provision, the Nordic countries are less similar today than they were some decades ago. Using survey data from three Nordic countries, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, we first document the differences in informal care between the countries, and then we assess its impact on the relationship between informal caregiving and formal employment. We find that informal care is most common in Denmark and least common in Sweden. However, those who provide care in Sweden provide care more often than people in both Norway and Denmark. There is a negative correlation between being a caregiver and the probability of being employed in Norway and Denmark, but not in Sweden. With specific regard to parental care, there is no general relation between the provision of parental care and employment, but those providing substantial care are clearly less likely to work than others. Caring for a disabled child is less common than caring for a parent, but the negative effects on employment are even stronger.

Highlights

  • Informal care is widely acknowledged to affect paid employment, but the main focus in the work-life balance discourse is on childcare (Ackers, 2003; Crompton & Lyonette, 2006; Leira, 2006)

  • If the time devoted to informal eldercare is negatively associated with female employment, it is a fact that merits consideration in discussions on eldercare and especially on the reliance on informal care

  • We focus on describing differences in informal caregiving and in the links between employment and informal caregiving for older parents and for disabled children in the three countries

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Summary

Introduction

Informal care is widely acknowledged to affect paid employment, but the main focus in the work-life balance discourse is on childcare (Ackers, 2003; Crompton & Lyonette, 2006; Leira, 2006). This aspect is well exemplified in the policy debate in Europe (see Ackers, 2003 for an overview), where there are concerns about the effects of an aging population on the tax burden of the working-age population (Rubery et al, 2001).

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