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on Economics of Ageing |
| By: | Moïse Drabo; Raquel Fonseca; Marie-Louise Leroux |
| Abstract: | Informal care is a cornerstone of long-term care for older adults but may entail substantial psychological costs for caregivers. Using seven waves (2004–2022) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) for 27 countries, we estimate the causal effect of providing regular personal care inside the household on depressive symptoms and quality of life. We estimate dynamic panel instrumental-variable (IV) models with country and wave fixed effects, exploiting the persistence of caregiving and using lagged indicators of caregiving provision as instruments to address reverse causality and unobserved heterogeneity. Our baseline estimates indicate that providing informal care increases depressive symptoms by about 25% and reduces quality of life by roughly 6% relative to non-caregivers. These adverse effects are strongest for spousal caregivers and when caregiving is sustained over time, and they persist even after caregiving ends. Robustness checks using alternative outcomes, subsamples, and specifications suggest that the well-being costs of informal caregiving are sizable and pervasive, underscoring the need for long-term care policies that explicitly account for the mental health burden placed on family caregivers. Les soins informels constituent un pilier de la prise en charge à long terme des personnes âgées, mais peuvent engendrer des coûts psychologiques importants pour les aidants. À partir de sept vagues (2004-2022) de l’enquête sur la santé, le vieillissement et la retraite en Europe (SHARE) menée dans 27 pays, nous estimons l’effet causal de la fourniture régulière de soins personnels à domicile sur les symptômes dépressifs et la qualité de vie. Nous estimons des modèles dynamiques de panel à variables instrumentales (VI) avec effets fixes pays et vague, en exploitant la persistance des soins et en utilisant des indicateurs décalés de la fourniture de soins comme instruments pour traiter la causalité inverse et l’hétérogénéité non observée. Nos estimations de base indiquent que la fourniture de soins informels augmente les symptômes dépressifs d’environ 25 % et réduit la qualité de vie d’environ 6 % par rapport aux personnes ne fournissant pas de soins. Ces effets néfastes sont plus marqués chez les conjoints aidants et lorsque les soins sont prodigués de manière prolongée ; ils persistent même après la fin des soins. Des tests de robustesse utilisant des résultats alternatifs, des sous-échantillons et des spécifications suggèrent que les coûts en matière de bien-être liés aux soins informels sont considérables et généralisés, soulignent la nécessité de politiques de soins de longue durée qui tiennent explicitement compte du fardeau de santé mentale représentant les aidants familiaux. |
| Keywords: | Informal care, Depressive symptoms, Long-term care, Quality of life, Soins informels, Symptômes dépressifs, Soins de longue durée, Qualité de vie, Personnes âgées |
| JEL: | I12 J14 J22 C33 H55 |
| Date: | 2026–03–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2026s-04 |
| By: | Yoshimichi Murakami (Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, JAPAN); Aya Noritake (Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, JAPAN) |
| Abstract: | Although the defined contribution pension system in Chile had not permitted pension withdrawals before retirement age, the Chilean Congress approved laws allowing early withdrawals as an economic support measure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study empirically analysed the effects of mainly the third early pension withdrawal on pre-retirement labour supply using data from a nationally and regionally representative household survey for 2022. To address potential endogeneity from self-selection into pension withdrawals, we applied inverse probability weighting based on propensity score estimation. The results showed that individuals who withdrew their pensions worked longer hours and had a higher probability of employment. These effects were more pronounced among women, while they were statistically insignificant for men. The findings were robust to household-level analysis, which additionally showed that pension savings withdrawn by women were more likely to be used for home repairs. Therefore, the early pension withdrawal, rather than reducing labour supply through the income effect, encouraged female labour supply, possibly due to improved remote-work conditions. |
| Keywords: | Early pension withdrawal; Labour supply; Chile; Inverse probability weighting; Propensity score; COVID-19 |
| JEL: | H55 J22 J26 J32 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2026-10 |
| By: | Claudia Curi; Andreas Dibiasi; Matteo Ploner; Mirco Tonin |
| Abstract: | We study whether gender-biased financial advice contributes to the gender gap in pension wealth. Using administrative records from four private pension funds in Italy, we document that women are ceteris paribus 8 percentage points less likely than men to choose stock-focused investment lines at the time of enrollment. To assess whether advisory behavior contributes to this gap, we conduct a vignette-based survey experiment among pension advisors affiliated to the four funds, randomly varying the gender of otherwise identical prospective 25-year-old clients. Advisors are 22 percentage points less likely to recommend stock-oriented portfolios to female clients, even after conditioning on advisors' beliefs about relevant client characteristics. We further show that a simple information intervention that makes advisors aware of the documented gender bias eliminates this gap in the experimental setting. Linking advisors to real clients in the administrative data, we demonstrate that the gender gap in actual investment choices shrinks by approximately 60% during the five months following the intervention. This evidence suggests that gender bias in financial advice is largely implicit and that low-cost informational feedback to advisors can meaningfully reduce gender disparities in retirement wealth accumulation. |
| Keywords: | biased advice, gender, pension, implicit bias |
| JEL: | J16 G53 J32 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12569 |
| By: | Witnie Compère; Bertrand Achou; Philippe De Donder; Raquel Fonseca; Franca Glenzer; Minjoon Lee; Marie-Louise Leroux |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the main socioeconomic and demographic determinants likely to influence individuals’ decisions to provide long-term care to their parents. To do so, the authors draw on original data from a survey conducted in 2023 among 2, 300 people living in Quebec and Ontario, aged 45 to 58. They successively analyze three dimensions of the decision to provide anticipated help (the choice of the potential recipient, the type of care, and the expected weekly intensity) in order to capture the complexity of the decision-making process upstream of engagement in informal care. They show that these determinants are based on distinct trade-offs. The choice of caregiving arrangement is primarily shaped by organizational constraints (whether the caregiver works full time or not) and the anticipated burden (depending on the life expectancy of the care recipient), whereas the expected intensity of help depends on gender norms, time constraints (notably related to full-time employment and retirement), the perceived health status of the recipient, and the parent–child relationship. This heterogeneity highlights that the willingness to help stems neither from a purely affective logic nor from a strictly economic calculation. Ce papier examine les principaux déterminants socioéconomiques et démographiques susceptibles d’influencer la décision des individus d’offrir des soins de longue durée à leurs parents. Pour ce faire, Les auteur‧e‧s s’appuient sur des données originales issues d’une enquête menée en 2023 auprès de 2 300 personnes résidant au Québec et en Ontario, âgées de 45 à 58 ans. Ils analysent successivement trois dimensions de la décision d’aide anticipée (le choix du bénéficiaire potentiel, le type de soins et l’intensité hebdomadaire envisagée) afin de saisir la complexité du processus décisionnel en amont de l’engagement dans l’aide informelle. Ils montrent que ces déterminants reposent sur des arbitrages distincts. Le choix du mode de prise en charge est principalement structuré par les contraintes organisationnelles (selon que l’aidant travaille à temps plein ou non) et la charge anticipée (selon l’espérance de vie du proche aidé), tandis que l’intensité d’aide envisagée dépend des normes de genre, des contraintes de temps (notamment liées à l’emploi à temps plein et au départ à la retraite), de l’état de santé perçu du proche et de la relation de filiation. Cette hétérogénéité souligne que la volonté d’aider ne relève ni d’une logique purement affective ni d’un calcul strictement économique. |
| Keywords: | Dependency, loss of autonomy, formal and informal care, Dépendance, perte d’autonomie, aide formelle et informelle |
| JEL: | D14 E21 G51 I10 |
| Date: | 2026–03–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2026s-03 |
| By: | Pimpertz, Jochen |
| Abstract: | Die Alterssicherungskommission der Bundesregierung soll einerseits eine Kennziffer für das Gesamtversorgungsniveau aus gesetzlicher Rente, betrieblicher und geförderter Privatvorsorge entwickeln. Andererseits soll es darum gehen, wie der Lebensstandardsicherung im Alter gesichert werden kann. Beide Arbeitsaufträge können zu unterschiedlichen Ableitungen führen: Soll das Gesamtversorgungsniveau aus den drei Säulen maßgeblich für Reformen sein, dann wird damit implizit unterstellt, dass die Bedarfe im Alter vorrangig über monatliche Renten aus den drei Versicherungssystemen gedeckt werden sollen. Der Lebensstandard lässt sich aber auch durch Vermögen absichern. Das ist der Grund, warum Leistungen der Grundsicherung oder das Wohngeld eine Prüfung der Einkommens- und Vermögensverhältnisse voraussetzen. Ein Gesamtversorgungsniveau der drei Säulen vermag auch deshalb keine geeignete Zielgröße zu sein, weil die Höhe der Leistungen jeweils von den individuellen Bildungs-, Erwerbs- und Vorsorgeentscheidungen der Versicherten abhängen. Insbesondere in Paarhaushalten können niedrige Versorgungsansprüche einer Person mit hinreichend hohen Leistungen des Partners zusammentreffen. Schon deshalb lässt sich weder aus dem Sicherungsniveau der gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung noch aus dem Verbreitungsgrad ergänzender Vorsorgesysteme treffsicher auf Versorgungsrisiken im Alter schließen. Dennoch werden unterschiedliche Reformmodelle mit der Sorge vor steigender Armutsgefährdung begründet. Auch dieses Messkonzept abstrahiert von den Vermögenswerten. Immerhin berücksichtigt es aber sämtliche Nettoeinkommen, die allen Haushaltsmitgliedern zufließen. Allerdings werden dabei die Vorteile des gemeinsamen Wirtschaftens, das in Mehrpersonenhaushalten möglich ist, über eine Bedarfsgewichtung der Haushaltsmitglieder berücksichtigt. Auch deshalb lässt sich nicht treffsicher von der Höhe einer gesetzlichen, betrieblichen oder privaten Rente auf Armutsgefährdungsrisiken im Haushalt schließen. Tatsächlich deuten die empirischen Befunde darauf hin, dass Vermögenswerte selbst bei der Absicherung von Haushalten mit geringerem Alterseinkommen relevant sein können. Für das Gros der Ruhestandshaushalte werden höhere Vermögensbestände festgestellt, die für eine Lebensstandardsicherung jenseits des Grundsicherungsniveaus eingesetzt werden können - sei es zur Tilgung einer Hypothek, die ein mietfreies Wohnen in der selbstgenutzten Immobilie ermöglicht, oder sei es zur Vorsorge gegen Ausgabenrisiken, die sich zum Beispiel im Pflegefall ergeben. Deshalb sollten Empfehlungen zur Weiterentwicklung der Alterssicherungssysteme nur auf Basis empirischer Befunde abgeleitet werden, die den Wohlstand eines Haushalts umfassend abbilden, also sowohl die Einkommen- als auch die Vermögensausstattung eines Haushalts berücksichtigen. |
| Abstract: | An expert-group has been tasked by the Federal Government with drawing up recommendations on the further development of pension schemes. To this end, an index is to be developed that reflects the level of coverage provided by statutory, occupational and private insurance. However, this indicator would lead to erroneous conclusions. For one thing, assets are not considered that can secure one's standard of living in old age just as effectively as monthly pension payments. On the other hand, in two-person households, one person's low pension may coincide with the other person's high pension entitlements. Therefore, the amount of a statutory pension or the prevalence of supplemental pension schemes does not necessarily indicate a pension gap in old age. For the same reasons, concerns about rising risks of poverty in old age are misleading if they are used to justify reforms. Instead, a comprehensive analysis of income and wealth distribution at the household level is necessary to derive a targeted and efficient reform of pension systems. |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwkrep:339585 |
| By: | Pablo Blanchard (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Sebastián Fleitas (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile); Rodrigo González Valdenegro (Charles River Associates) |
| Abstract: | We study the equilibrium welfare effects of using state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to discipline market power. We estimate a dynamic equilibrium model of Uruguay’s individual capitalization pension system, where a high-quality SOE competes with private firms in the presence of worker inertia. We find that the presence of a SOE lowers equilibrium fees and increases investment returns. Replacing it with a private firm would more than double its fee and raise private firms’ fees by 8 percent. Reducing inertia mitigates but does not offset privatization. Comparing policy instruments, we show that direct price regulation yields higher welfare gains than competition through an SOE. |
| Keywords: | competition, state-owned firms, pension funds, regulation |
| JEL: | L51 N2 H4 L21 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-03-26 |
| By: | Lin, Zhuoer; Sun, Ruochen; Ross, Joseph S.; Lau, Kien; Stumpf, Sophia; Chen, Xi |
| Abstract: | Alzheimer's disease (AD) disproportionately burdens racial and ethnic minority populations, yet the extent to which US clinical trials reflect this burden remains poorly understood. We conduct a systematic review of all 88 completed US-based Phase III AD drug trials between 1997 and 2023, using a multi-source approach that integrates the Trialtrove clinical trial database with PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, pharmaceutical reports, and conference abstracts. We document three main findings. First, nearly half of published trials (49.3%) reported no data on patient race or ethnicity. Among trials that did report, practices were highly inconsistent in terminology, categorization, and analytical depth. Second, White patients constituted a median of 91.3% of enrollment, while Black patients represented 4.5%-7.2%, Hispanic patients 5.2%, and Asian / Pacific Islander and Native American patients less than 1% - shares that are grossly disproportionate to AD prevalence rates, which are approximately twice as high among non- Hispanic Black older adults and 1.5 times as high among Hispanic older adults relative to non- Hispanic Whites. Third, only 3 trials (4.2%) conducted any subgroup analyses by race or ethnicity, and none reported treatment safety or efficacy stratified by demographic group. Critically, regression models find no evidence of improvement in reporting or representation from 1997 to 2023. These patterns limit the generalizability of existing AD treatment evidence and raise fundamental concerns about health equity. Our findings support strengthening mandatory reporting standards, broadening eligibility criteria, and diversifying trial site selection to ensure emerging AD treatments are evaluated equitably across the populations most affected. |
| Keywords: | Alzheimer's disease, dementia, clinical trials, racial and ethnic disparities, health equity, underrepresentation, diversity in clinical research |
| JEL: | I14 I18 J15 J14 L65 I11 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1728 |
| By: | Guillermo Prieto-Viertel; Carsten K\"allner; Elma Dervic; Ola Ali; Andrea Vismara; Rafael Prieto-Curiel |
| Abstract: | Political discourse attributes the pressure on European welfare systems to foreign nationals. Yet projections of service demand rarely disaggregate service demand by citizenship status. We develop a structural demographic model and project healthcare, education, and housing demand in Austria through 2050, disaggregated by citizenship status and regions across migration scenarios. We find that migration, ageing, and fertility shape each sector differently. In healthcare, the ageing of Austrian nationals contributes 4.7 times more to demand growth than immigration, with the most acute pressures in rural, low-migration regions. In housing, migration accounts for the entire net growth in demand, concentrated in metropolitan hubs. In education, aggregate demand contracts regardless of migration assumptions, whereas future needs are driven more by the births of foreigners in Austria than by new arrivals. Foreign nationals consume services in proportion to their demographic weight, with deviations explained by age structure rather than over-utilisation. These results show that the drivers of service demand are sector-specific: migration restrictions could ease housing pressure, but would not address ageing-driven healthcare demand and may accelerate contraction in the education system. |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2603.26525 |