Under Review
Unpaid Eldercare and its Impact on US Labor Supply
[with Maria Floro, American University]
US is facing a major demographic change due to aging population. This brings challenges on several fronts including the growing need for eldercare and the tension faced by individuals between staying in the labor force participation on one hand and providing care on the other. Using 2011-17 American Time Use Survey data for a subsample of individuals aged 25-61 years, we examine the effect of frequent eldercare provision on labor force participation using bivariate probit IV approach. Our findings suggest that unpaid eldercare performed on frequent basis reduces labor supply and increases the workload of female caregivers who remain employed. Sensitivity checks confirm these findings.
JEL Classification: J14, J16, J22
Keywords: aging, eldercare, labor supply, United States, time use
Time Allocation and Unpaid Eldercare in the US
[with Maria Floro, American University]
The need for better understanding and measuring unpaid eldercare has become an urgent and pressing issue given the trend towards population aging. This study takes into account the diversity of eldercare arrangements and focuses on those who provide unpaid eldercare on a frequent basis (daily or several times a week). Using 2011-17 American Time Use Survey data for a subsample of individuals aged 25-61-years old, we examine the time allocation pattern of frequent eldercare providers using multivariate regression methods. Our findings suggest that frequent eldercare provision is associated with more time spent on domestic chores and significantly less time on market work and self-care. Robustness and sensitivity checks confirm these findings.
JEL Classification: J14, J16, J22
Keywords: aging, eldercare, unpaid work, time use, United States
Other Paper
Pro-Girl Attitudes and Childhood Stunting in India
India is in a major malnutrition crisis, topping the list of countries with the largest number of stunted children. This paper examines the relationship between three distinct attitudes of mothers (pro-boy, egalitarian, and pro-girl) and stunting among boys and girls in India using the Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS) 2004-05. The study focuses on children aged 0 to 14 years. I estimate a linear probability and a probit model to assess the association between stunting and attitude of mothers. The findings in this paper suggest that the egalitarian attitude of mothers is not associated with stunting among children. Instead, the pro-girl attitude among mothers is related to the likelihood of 8 and 10 percentage points lower stunting among girls and boys, respectively. Additional analysis by wealth categories shows that stunting among the girls reduces by 15 percentage points when they have mothers with pro-girl attitude, and they live in wealthy households. The robustness tests with severely stunted as a dependent variable confirm the findings.
JEL Classification: I12, J13, O15, Z10, Z13
Keywords: son-preference, stunting, children, gender